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Elections are around the corner and the whole month will be filled with posters, flexes and candidates making promises to you. When a repeat candidate comes to you please evaluate if they have achieved anything out of the promises made in the previous election. A special request is to evaluate their governance in the past 5 years.

Has the air quality become better? Or has it reached the point where Gurugram is now the most polluted city in the world? Have they provided harvesters to farmers in the state so they won’t need to burn stubble this year? Every year from October to January Haryana chokes due to this… What incentives have they offered to farmers to utilise alternate options? Have they created teams to tackle farm fires on the spot? Or is giving radio ads and announcing fines the only solution we can expect from this government?

Has the quarrying in the Aravallis stopped? Last year supreme court had taken suo moto cognizance of the disappearance of twenty nine hills in the Aravali range. Has the government done anything to stop the illegal quarrying and cutting of trees in the Aravali? What action did they take when 400 trees were cut overnight? Did they even initiate an enquiry as to who orchestrated the crime?

Has this government not amended the Punjab land preservation act and plans to open up 60,000 acres of Aravalli land in Gurugram and Faridabad for commercial interest? Has the Khattar government done ANYTHING to increase the green cover in Haryana from the abysmally low 3.5%? It is the lowest in the country! We have the worst air quality, the least green cover and the government has done NOTHING to improve the condition in the last 5 years!

The crimes against women continue without respite- daily reports of rapes and gang rapes across the state. Has the government improved policing, improved conviction rate, improved streetlights and quality of public transport especially keeping women’s safety in mind? Do women feel safer today than they did 5 years back? Why has the chief Minister Mr Khattar tried to seek release of the convicted rapist Ram Rahim to canvass for his elections? Why has the Chief minister made derogatory remarks about bringing Kashmiri brides home? Do you think this government has a serious intent to reducing crimes against women in Haryana?

Other than the 4 underpasses and flyovers, a few of which have already shown signs of damage within 8 to 10 months of their construction ,what infrastructure has changed in Gurugram? Have the potholes been filled? Has electricity supply become uninterrupted? Do we continue to use diesel generators to provide expensive and polluting electricity to ourselves? Have the rates of electricity in Gurugram come down in the last 5 years?

Has the water problem been solved? Have the drains been cleared to prevent flooding during monsoons? Do the drains have manhole covers to prevent deaths and disease? Has the Medical College announced 5 years back developed anywhere except on paper? Has the quality of healthcare in the government sector become any better than it was 5 years back?

If the only tangible change they have been able to do is change our name from Gurgaon to Gurugram maybe the millennium City needs to rethink who to vote for this election.

Jai Hind.
Dr.Sarika Verma
ENT surgeon and Allergy Specialist
Gurugram.