10
PRAKHAR PANDEY
{ Abhishek Behl / FG }
write to us at letters@fridaygurgaon
J
harsa village, which was once a ‘jagir’ assigned to the Muslim nobles - most notable among them Begum Samroo of Sardhana - during the Mughal era, has today lost much of its relevance, as urbanisation and modernisation have caught up with it. The Village had a predominantly Muslim population prior to Partition, and most of them preferred to move to Pakistan. The rural character of Jharsa was lost after the Haryana government began acquiring land to develop the HUDA sectors in the eighties. A large number of farmers are now landlords, earning rent as their primary source of income; some are truck fleet owners. Of course there are also those who built palaces or splurged on weddings. Ram Mehar, sitting at the Village
choupal, says that the villagers had no knowledge of how to handle that kind of money, and neither were they were trained in any business. Most of the farmers had 2-4 acres holdings. However, the sudden windfall from the sale of land made the youngsters believe that they had now become the rich class. “There are only a few families in the Village that were able to use the money wisely. Some of them bought land outside the Village. Only they have prospered,” says Satish, another villager. The real turnaround in Jharsa came about only when the HUDA sectors around the village, and corporate offices like Unitech Cyber Park, starting humming with activity. The Medanta hospital, which has also been opened on Jharsa land, has also become a major lifeline, as the population of the Village now stands at almost 50,000 - with a majority of them living as tenants. Satish, who also owns a couple of rooms in the Village, says that he has built a house in Sector 46 and stays there, while he has converted his original home into a rented property. With room rents hovering anywhere between Rs 3,000 to 5,000 per month, there is no dearth of customers. The urbanisation of Jharsa has however changed the way the locals
C ivic/S ocial
15-21 August 2014
A Big Village-Town
live, as there is no agricultural activity. The majority of the Village youth is also unemployed, and they have become difficult to manage, say the village elders. “The Haryana government jobs have dried up for after the Congress government led by Hooda has assumed power. Earlier, people from the Village did manage to find jobs in the police and other allied departments, but not anymore,” says Vinod, a resident. The corporate companies and local industry also prefer to hire migrants. The villagers say that their image has been dented by a few incidents, which were carried out by miscreants. Asked whether the onset of urbanisation and the arrival of private builders has helped the village in any way, the answer is a big No. Harish, a resident, says that they had hoped that the infrastructure in the Village would improve and the quality of life would get better, but that has not happened. For years they have been suffering the poor sewerage system, as the under-capacity pipes remain choked always. Advocate Pavan Kumar Saini, resident of the Saini Mohalla, says that that even adequate drinking water is not supplied – leading to constant tension. Saini adds that the smaller size and the frequent bursting of HUDA pipes makes
matters worse. The issue of water scarcity had reached such serious proportion that MCG Chief Praveen Kumar had to visit Jharsa and assure the residents that some action would be taken soon. The takeover of village areas by the MCG – in place of the panchayats - has also not gone well with the locals, who opine that empowered village leaders who could deal directly with the government were far better than the bureaucracy. The locals say that even when the Village was kuccha, there was no major problem of sewerage and lack of sanitation. “A majority of us could be saved from diseases if clean water is supplied, and the Village is kept clean. The government should set up a new affordable hospital in the City, so that people can access medical facilities,” adds a resident. Lack of regular power supply also hampers the education of the kids, and is badly affecting the life of residents, the majority of whom are migrant workers. Rati Ram, a resident, complains that despite paying the power bills, the supply has been curtailed. He is also critical of the government, which he says has failed to ensure that the traditional culture and customs of the villages in Gurgaon, which revolved around baithaks
and hookahs, is safeguarded. The migrant workers have no stake in the Village. A number of times these workers commit crimes, which are immediately attributed to the villagers, allege the locals. The end of village chowkidari and the numberdar system has also made the area less safe. Sagar Thakran, a local youth, says that the communal bond that existed among the villagers is under great strain, as the identity of the Village is being diluted slowly. Earlier, there was a pride of being a resident of Jharsa, but now the Village is known more for being a concretised island where a large number of people live as tenants. There is no sports ground in the Village, where the large number of children and youth could go and play. There is no worthwhile park, which could have been set up in the Village common land, alleges Thakran. The result is that teenagers and youth, who could have become sportsmen, are seen roaming the streets on their bikes and whiling away their time. Recently, the demolition exercise carried out by MCG Commissioner in Nathupur and other Gurgaon villages had also raised the temperature in Jharsa, and a large number of locals had participated in the panchayat held to discuss the is-
sue. The locals say that demolitions in villages should not take place, because most of the residents have built homes for themselves, since there has been no extension of the Lal Dora limit. The Lal Dora was fixed when the number of residents was around 5,000. The Village common land has been taken away by MCG, and the villagers cannot buy expensive plots outside, says Rati Ram. “The MCG took over our land, and took over our funds, but the benefit has gone only to residents of the new sectors and colonies. The government had promised works worth crores, street lights, paved roads, lanes and drains, and clean villages, but all these exist only on paper,” says one of the locals. In fact, allege locals, the Village has been blocked off on three sides by commercial buildings, sectors and roads, leading to constant traffic jams. “What we gained initially has been lost, and so has
the tranquility and peace of the Village,” says Mange Ram, adding that a buffer zone around the Village could have been created, which not only could give some space to breathe but also ensure that the traditional village ponds that served as reservoirs earlier could be saved. The three Jharsa ponds have all dried up, and have been levelled – and encroached on. Uncontrolled and unplanned construction led to a situation where the water channels were blocked, leading to the drying up of these water bodies. Locals also allege that, in order to maximize profits, the builders of commercial properties have not created suitable backup systems. There are no parking facilities, no affordable food facilities, and EWS housing is nonexistent. The villagers believe that there should be a holistic policy, by which the urban and rural divide – of infrastructure and people - can be bridged Civil society needs to come forward and help bring people together, to jointly ensure that Gurgaon becomes a safe, clean and green city. The interests of the locals, and the outsiders who have made this City their home, should not clash, if the City has to achieve its Millennium dreams.u