The Times of India    23.08.2012

Lal dora out of today’s Gurgaon municipality house meet agenda

GURGAON: The tussle between the mayor and the executive wing of the MCG has again come to the forefront with the latter refusing to include an issue raised by the mayor in the final agenda that has been prepared for Thursday's house meeting.

The mayor had asked the municipal corporation officials to include the lal dora issue in the agenda so that it can be discussed and if needed, a proposal can be passed in the House meeting and further send to the state government for necessary approvals.

However, according to sources, the MCG authorities decided not to include the matter in the agenda. Sources say that this was deliberately done as the lal dora is a controversial subject.

"The lal dora is a highly debatable topic and not many are sure about the legality of houses located in and around this area. While the municipal act seems to suggest that some houses and commercial establishments are illegal as their building plans have not been sanctioned by the MCG, others claim they should not be treated illegal as they were built on panchayat land. It has been noticed that the officials harass these residents claiming their houses are built illegally. Therefore the mayor wanted to have a debate in the House on this topic. However, the MCG officials seem to be skeptical about including the topic in the agenda," said a source.

MCG officials though seem to suggest that the item could not be included as the agenda was finalized before the mayor suggested the issue. They say they will include it in the next House meeting and claim the mayor can call for a debate in the House meeting on Thursday even if the item is not there in the agenda.

"I am not sure why the lal dora has not been included in the agenda. One thing is for sure that the MCG officials keep sending notices of demolition to these helpless residents whose houses and commercial buildings are located in and around the lal dora area. I will take up the issue in the House meeting on Thursday," said mayor Vimal Yadav.