Opposition, RWAs gun for Nayab Singh Saini govt over ‘S+4’ move

Geetanjali Gayatri and Sumedha Sharma

The Haryana Government has opened a second front in the thick of the Assembly elections, with several Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) as well as Opposition leaders threatening to approach the Election Commission against the caretaker Nayab Singh Saini government goes ahead with its decision to open up construction in residential areas to reach four floors.

From Congress leader Bhupinder Hooda to JJP leader Dushyant Chautala to several RWAs, especially in Gurugram, a storm of protest is gathering to oppose the BJP’s decision to side-step the court case and go ahead with stilt-plus-four construction.

Both opposition politicians and civil society activists say they are deeply distressed with the BJP’s decision, without a proper study of the attendant issues involved, like parking, water, electricity and sewerage.

Congress leader Bhupinder Hooda said the move smacked of government’s “vested interest”. Stating that the BJP was flip-flopping on the decision, Hooda said, “This is a confused government. This cannot be done. It is completely wrong, especially since this is a caretaker government.”

Maintaining that the BJP, worried about the building momentum against ‘S+4’ put the construction on hold in August, Yashvir Malik, chairman of the confederation of 287 RWAs, said allowing construction now, showed that the BJP was playing into the hands of the builder lobby.

“My information is that the BJP wants to fulfil its commitment to the builders by getting such projects cleared across the state, especially those in Gurugram and Faridabad, before a new government is in place. The RWAs will oppose the BJP and its candidates across the state. We will hold a meeting tomorrow to decide how to go about it. Inko vote ki chot dengay ab,” he said. As many as 200 applications are pending in Gurugram alone, seeking permission to build the floors.

Vocal about the “chaos” the S+4 construction can cause in existing sectors, Gen VP Malik (retd), a resident of Panchkula, said the “clandestine” manner in which the ban was lifted, indicated that it was done to please a particular lobby. “Everyone, so far, was under the impression that S+4 had been put on hold until after the elections. However, the ban has been lifted through one letter. Apparently, some promises were made to the builder lobby. The greed in the government has overtaken the welfare concerns of citizens and the government has not paid heed to BJP’s own former MLA, Gian Chand Gupta. We will go to court since no other option is available,” he said.

Kumari Selja, MP and former Congress chief, said to lift the ban in the middle of election was “totally wrong”. “It is being done to please a certain section with an eye on elections,” she said.

Former Deputy CM and JJP leader Dushyant Chautala said, “To allow S+4 in existing sectors is wrong. We did not approve of it even when we were a part of the government. We will move the ECI. How can this be allowed in the middle of an election?”

INLD senior leader Abhay Chautala questioned how a caretaker government was authorised to take such a decision. “If it has been done by an officer, the ECI must take note and action should be taken against him,” he stated.

Vardhan Yadav and Mohit Grover, Congress candidates from Badhshahpur Assembly segment and Gurugram, respectively, have called it a last favour to builders by the Nayab Saini-led BJP caretaker government and “a violation of the model code of conduct”.

“The party had no answer to infrastructure collapse in Gurugram. So, they chose to do a last-minute favour to the builder lobby. This violation should be rolled back. The Congress government will review the policy and both builders and home developers need to wait for the same,” they said in a joint statement.

The RWAs, meanwhile, have threatened to not just move the ECI, but also obstruct any new construction. “This is unethical. Rather than thinking about the masses, they are benefiting a handful during elections. The policy needs to be properly reviewed and implemented and the BJP should wait for people’s mandate. The ECI should take a stern stance. Local RWAs will not allow any new construction,” said the RWA Federation of Gurugram.

Sources in the Town and Country Planning Department said construction had been allowed in a policy that was already in place. “This is not a new decision and it does not violate the poll code. We only told the court that we are lifting the self-imposed ban,” an officer explained.

Former Speaker and Panchkula MLA Gian Chand Gupta, who had written to the government to consider stalling the approval, said the government had plugged the loopholes and the consent of neighbours was mandatory.