Hindustan Times 10.12.2009

'Anaath (Orphan) Road', a key thoroughfare in Millennium City Gurgaon, has finally got a guardian angel.

The Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) recently took over this road along with 40 others from the Public Works Department (PWD).

And soon, it is getting a complete makeover.

"Next week, work will start on the road. It will be a 10-metre wide road. It will be probably cemented," said VK Gupta, engineer-in-Chief, MCG.

This road in Sector 18 hogged the headlines after HT highlighted its condition and how no government department was willing to own it.

Major corporate and multinational offices such as Siemens, Pearl Pet, HCL, Tupperware, Lumax, Orient Craft, Agilent Technologies, Munjal Showa are located on both sides.

Residents and corporates fought for this 2.5-km-long road for about six years and then christened it 'Anaath (Orphan) Road' on April 30.

In the parliamentary polls in May, the road became an issue with corporates appealing to their employees to boycott the elections.

Just 180 metres are in a motorable condition and the rest was totally useless.

After HT highlighted the bad condition of the road, former finance minister Birender Singh intervened and the road was handed over to the PWD.

However, the going was not easy, as the PWD had handed over all its 40 roads, but this one, to the MCG.

"PWD officials said only their department would construct this road for reasons known to them. We took the matter to Finance Commissioner (Town & Country Planning) S.S. Dhillon who intervened and ordered transfer of this road to MCG," said an industrialist on the condition of anonymity.

Superintending engineer PWD, RS Yadav, refused to comment on the issue.