The Times of India  08.10.2010

GURGAON: The city inched a step closer towards conducting its first municipal election and having its own set of councillors. After dividing the entire municipal area into 35 different wards last month, the municipal commissioner had given ten days time to the residents to file their objections, if any, regarding the division.

While the corporation was expecting many complaints, it was pleasantly surprised when only 109 objections were raised, of which only 55 were genuine, they claimed. There were only 55 genuine objections. Of the rest, at least 40 were repeated thrice. While some people had complained that they were unhappy about their area being included within a particular ward, we also got as many as 12 letters from residents conveying their happiness on the issue of ward division, said Rajesh Khullar, commissioner, MCG. He added, We have carefully gone through the objections and have sent them to the state government for its approval.

He also added that as per the special census conducted by the MCG, the total population in the municipal area is about 11 lakh. But while the MCG claims all is well, some residents have expressed their dissatisfaction. Ideally, there should have been a public hearing to deal with the objections that people have raised with regards to ward division, said RS Rathee, president of Gurgaon citizens council. He added that they have sought an appointment with the chief election commissioner on the missing voters list.