India, Oct. 3 -- Kavita Bansal moved to Gurugram with aspirations in 2012, when the city was on the cusp of becoming a model urban centre. More than a decade later, she says Gurugram's focus on becoming a major commercial and residential hub has come at the cost of its natural environment, with green cover increasingly overlooked in the race to build.

The 47-year-old homemaker said she believed the city would offer great opportunities for her children. But within three to four years, she realised that "it was the beginning of Gurugram turning into a civic mess."

She says, "To me, Gurugram feels like a city built for cars and two-wheelers, not for people who want to walk or cycle."

Bansal says that Gurugram, where construction activitie...