by Manoj Kumar (8800184857)
We, at Samvada, have been raising concerns pertaining to our colony in our various issues from time to time. While we appreciate the hardship to the colony residents arising from these concerns, we must also understand the steps being undertaken by the relevant Authorities in coordination with our RWA to mitigate the concerns. This will provide a holistic perspective to the problems faced by the residents. In order to achieve this objective, our Resident Editor Manoj Kumar met up with the GK2WA team comprising Mr Shadi Lal Sharma (President), Ms Uma Talwar (Vice President), Mr Sanjay Rana (General Secretary) and Mr Ashwani Kapur (Treasurer) to know from them the measures being deployed by the Association to resolve the issues plaguing the colony. We reproduce below the excerpts of this interaction. Since the list of issues runs long, it is not possible to cover them all in one issue. We are therefore reporting the GK2WA feedback on only a few of the concerns here. It will be our endeavor to cover the remaining areas too in our subsequent issues.
Q. The security barricades that were placed in the colony earlier were removed last month in deference to a Court Order to this effect. This could compromise the safety and the security of the colony to a large extent. What countermeasures are being undertaken in this regard?
GK2WA Response. We have been exploring the possibility of installing Gates in our colony for several years. However given the complexities in fulfilling the procedural formalities in this regard as well as the arduous task of dealing with multiple authorities for obtaining the clearances for this purpose, this is not considered a worthwhile proposal any longer. Installation of barriers is a feasible option and we are working on it. We approached Delhi Police all the way up to the level of the Police Commissioner to obtain the approval for placing barriers which could be manned by the Police personnel. These efforts have failed to bear any fruits due to lack of manpower with Delhi Police to man the barriers in our colony. We also had to shelve the idea of hiring security guards at our expense for manning the barriers due to lack of funds. We are now working on the proposal to engage the services of a private security agency with its own fleet of Security Guards and Bouncers to manage the security of the colony at night. The Security Agency would collect a nominal monthly payment against this service from every building in the colony. The details of this arrangement are in the final stage of discussion and we would shortly share the same with the colony residents. In the meanwhile, we would urge the residents not to raise private contributions for installing Gates in the colony as no entity other than the RWA has any authority to get any such project executed.
Q. The colony roads are in a pathetic state and have not been carpeted/repaired for a long time. What is the plan to improve the road quality in the colony?
GK2WA Response. We have been persistently following up with the two concerned agencies – PWD and MCD – for this purpose. Work on repairing the PWD roads has recently started in a piecemeal fashion and several stretches of roads falling under the PWD jurisdiction have been repaired. This work is currently underway but will gather momentum once the rains finally stop and the tar manufacturing facilities start production at their optimum levels. Repair work on MCD roads has been held up due to non-availability of cement, which is the main component used by MCD to fix roads falling within its dominion. As per our information, MCD has very recently received a few bags of cement and repair of MCD roads too is likely to commence selectively after Durga Puja.
Q. The colony trees are not regularly pruned. We have witnessed several incidents of unkempt trees in the colony falling and causing avoidable mishaps. When will the tree pruning activity be undertaken in our colony?
GK2WA Response. There has been some confusion regarding the relevant Authority responsible for carrying out the tree pruning activity. In spite of our repeated follow up with the MCD Horticulture Department, this work never started in the right earnest as MCD would pass the buck to the Forest Department. Upon our incessant follow up in this matter, we have finally received a clarification from the Forest Department on 27th September`22 as per which no permission is required from the Forest Department for pruning trees which are less than 15.7 cm in girth. For pruning other trees, MCD has to take online approval from the Forest Department as per the prescribed procedure. Armed with this clarification, we have now approached the Horticulture Department of MCD to start pruning the trees for which they do not need any approvals as well as to initiate the process for obtaining online approvals for bigger trees. We will continue to follow up with MCD for getting this work commenced expeditiously.
Q. The children’s playing equipment as well as the open gym equipment in some of the colony parks are in a state of disrepair to an extent that their usage can cause hurt or injury. Is there any plan to get these damaged equipment repaired?
GK2WA Response. We recently got a damaged spiral slide in S Block Rock Garden removed through the MCD. A few concerned residents undertook the task of getting the Equipment in the Sehgal Market 2 Park repaired through their own initiative. We will continue to work with the Authorities in this regard on need basis
