GMDA Officers Told to Inspect Gurugram Roads Monthly and Protect Footpaths

GURUGRAM: Road maintenance officers at the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority have been told to inspect their assigned stretches every month, submit factual condition reports and give pedestrian safety the same attention as the carriageway. The direction was issued during an infrastructure review led by Haryana's urban development principal adviser DS Dhesi.

Under the proposed accountability system, sub-divisional engineers are expected to carry out monthly field inspections, while executive engineers will review roads every quarter. The instructions place particular emphasis on newly constructed stretches and roads still covered by a defects-liability period.

Defects must be caught before contracts expire

A defects-liability period is the window in which a contractor remains responsible for specified faults after construction. If cracks, settlement, blocked drains or damaged kerbs are recorded during that period, the authority can require correction under the contract. If inspections are delayed, a defect may worsen or become a public expense after the contractor's obligation ends.

The order for factual reports is therefore more than paperwork. Useful inspection records should identify the location, photograph the defect, state when it was first seen, name the responsible contractor or maintenance division and set a closure date. Without those details, a monthly report can become another checklist that does not change road conditions.

Footpaths placed at the centre of the review

The meeting also referred to the Supreme Court's emphasis on pedestrian rights and directed officials to provide safe, uninterrupted footpaths. Gurugram's pavements frequently disappear at junctions, ramps, utility boxes, trees and informal parking. A path that works for only part of a journey does not provide safe pedestrian access.

The first priority identified for pedestrian improvements is the corridor between Rajiv Chowk and the Tower of Justice. The stretch carries court users, office workers, public-transport passengers and residents, making continuous walking space and safe crossings a basic mobility requirement rather than a beautification feature.

Officials will need to examine level differences, encroachments, open drains, lighting and crossing points as one connected system. Accessibility also requires kerb ramps and a clear width for wheelchair users, older people and parents with children.

Infrastructure review covered water and drainage

The wider meeting reviewed the 27-km drinking-water pipeline from Chandu Budhera to Sector 72. Officials said 22 km had been tested and 25 leaks repaired, with work continuing on the remaining five kilometres. A pipeline serving Gwal Pahari was reported to be carrying 19.5 MLD.

Drainage work in sectors 88 to 115 was also discussed. About 90 km of the network has been laid, according to the review, with a further 6.5 km under GMDA's scope. These figures describe work reported by the authority; they do not by themselves confirm performance during extreme rain.

Monthly road walks can become a practical early-warning system if the reports are used. The public-interest test is straightforward: hazards should be found by the agency before they cause a crash or become the subject of repeated complaints. Gurugram now has a defined inspection rhythm. The next step is visible repair and a record that allows residents to see whether defects were actually closed.