Phase 2 of civic handover deferred

Gurgaon: The second phase of transfer of sectors from Huda to MCG will be delayed. This was decided after chief minister Manhohar Lal Khattar on Monday met Huda employees protesting the transfer of staff and underdeveloped sectors, and accepted many of their demands.
As a result, Huda has decided to first carry out a survey of sectors to take stock of occupancy, construction of houses, and quantum of developmental work remaining.Till then, none of the sectors remaining under Huda in several cities across Haryana, including Gurgaon, will be handed over to the respective local bodies.
A fallout of the decision will be the continuation of the impasse over multiplicity of agencies - an issue which has dogged Gurgaon residents for long. In sectors that were transferred on April 30, MCG will be the sole agency responsible for development and maintenance related issues. But Huda will be in charge of the rest. Meanwhile, the financially struggling Huda, which had hoped to shed responsibilities and employees through the transfer, will continue to be saddled with expenses and responsibilities it had hoped to avoid.
A total of 188 sectors in urban centres across the state were proposed for transfer to respective local bodies. In its meeting with the CM, Huda Employees Union handed over a list of 78 sectors, including eight in Gurgaon, in which sectors have not been fully developed and occupancy/construction of houses is between 10-25%.
The protesters had demanded that 13 sectors - whose occupancy is less that 50% - should not be transferred. Balwan Singh, the secretary of Huda Employees Union, said, "During our meeting with the CM and senior Huda officials, it was proposed that sectors with less than 10% occupancy should not be transferred. Eventually, it was decided that sectors with less than 25-30% occupancy will not be transferred." He added they agreed to the proposal, as the state has assured to launch new sectors under Huda across the state, including in Gurgaon.
In his letter to all zonal heads and estate officers of Huda, chief administrator Vikas Gupta wrote, "The CM, who is also chairman of Huda, asked us to submit the sectors for review. Only sectors with 'sufficient' occupancy will be transferred to local bodies, while sectors with less than 30% occupancy won't be transferred." Huda zonal administrators have been directed to survey the sectors, particularly those marked out by the employees union, to take stock of occupancy. "Zonal administrators have been directed to send the occupancy report (in percentages) within seven days, for further action to be taken," said Gupta.
The remaining sectors will not be handed over to local bodies till further orders from the state government. Gurgaon Huda administrator Hardeep Singh said, "We'll complete the survey as soon as possible." He said the list of the sectors to be handed over to MCG would have be revised as a result.