Gurugram, April 22 -- Residents of Sector 31 in Gurugram, located along National Highway (NH) 48, have flagged multiple civic issues, alleging that the locality remains "neglected" despite being home to several retired bureaucrats. While roads were recently recarpeted, persistent concerns including choked drainage lines, irregular sweeping, inconsistent garbage collection, illegal encroachment in markets, deteriorating internal roads, and lack of piped natural gas continue to affect daily life. A primary grievance is the state of drainage and sewer infrastructure, with frequent waterlogging reported near the highway during monsoon and seasonal rains. "Waterlogging is one of the major concerns for residents, turning into a serious menace during the monsoon season. The persistent issue not only hampers mobility but is also a health hazard," said BS Yadav, RWA president of Sector 31. He added that drainage lines have gone uncleaned for four years. "Last year, desilting of drain work was halted in between, and it was unfinished. Our sector faces severe waterlogging even in the case of even little rain," he said. Monika Swami, a resident, called for urgent intervention. "Sector 31 is home to at least 2,500 families. Such negligence in a well-established residential hub is surprising in a city like Gurugram. The authorities tend to act only after problems escalate, rather than taking preventive measures in advance," she said. Ward councillor Pawan Kumar said tenders for desilting had been allotted last month and that drains would be cleaned ahead of monsoon. He also acknowledged a deeper structural problem, noting that the drainage system was developed over a decade ago. "The drainage capacity has remained the same, while the population has increased significantly. The same issue exists with the sewer lines. These lines will be replaced and newly laid wherever needed," he said. Officials said desilting work will be completed before the monsoon, while plans for laying new drain lines are still under consideration. Residents alleged that road sweeping is erratic and manpower grossly inadequate. While at least 36 sanitation workers are required for the sector, only 22 reportedly report for duty. "Absenteeism has increased among the workers, and the authorities are doing nothing about it. Road sweeping is done on irregular intervals, sometimes twice in a week or once in a week," said Yadav. Resident Arvind Chadha added that main roads remain consistently dusty and littered. "This is not a recent thing; it has been ongoing for a while now, yet no action has been taken by the authorities," he said. With municipal door-to-door garbage collection unreliable, residents said they had turned to private vendors to fill the gap. "Due to irregular garbage pickup, we hired private vendors for this," said Yadav. Despite this, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has continued charging garbage tax through its online portal. "In the portal, we have been charged garbage tax along with property tax. Why should we even pay it if MCG is not conducting any door-to-door waste collection from our sector?" asked Sarika Dutta. Ravindra Yadav, additional commissioner of the MCG, clarified that the tax is not currently applicable. "Once the tenders are issued and door-to-door garbage collection is properly in place, the tax will be levied on residents. We have already informed the headquarters about this error, and it will be rectified soon," he said. An MCG official, requesting anonymity, attributed the discrepancy to a technical glitch, saying, "The online portal still reflects an amount that should ideally be zero." The official added that residents who have already paid property tax along with garbage tax will be refunded. While some residents have already paid the tax, others have withheld payment pending clarification. Vendors, hawkers, scrap dealers, and cart operators have occupied public spaces and footpaths in the sector market, locals said. "The market of our sector is heavily encroached upon. Vendors and hawkers are setting up carts even on footpaths," said Yadav. Dutta further flagged that local cart operators dump garbage on the roadside and that scrap is openly burnt, creating air pollution and posing health hazards. Though an encroachment-free drive earlier this year removed several carts, vendors quickly returned. Ward councillor Kumar acknowledged the problem, noting that shopkeepers were also extending beyond permitted limits, and said an inspection and necessary measures would follow. On road quality, despite recent recarpeting, residents said surfaces began deteriorating within days, with road samples reportedly failing quality tests twice. MCG had conducted the tests. Residents alleged that repeated requests to MCG officials to take action against the contractor have gone unanswered. Jaiveer Yadav, jJoint commissioner at MCG, said that the area will be inspected. "I will get the area inspected again and direct the contractor to initiate patchwork soon," he added. Residents also flagged the absence of piped natural gas (PNG) connectivity for domestic users. "PNG pipelines have been laid out in few areas. In our sector, commercial users have obtained PNG supplies; however, domestic users are still awaiting connection," said Yadav. Dutta described the lack of PNG as an added burden, saying authorities have been slow to respond despite the problem being well known. Residents said a PNG connection would resolve the issue immediately, but no clear timeline has been provided. AK Jana, chief executive officer of Haryana City Gas (HCG), said efforts are underway to expand piped natural gas (PNG) supply across the city. "We are expediting the work and will ensure PNG supply reaches Sector 31 at the earliest," he said....