Now, CCTV cameras in office rooms to watch over babus

Gurgaon: After several complaints from the residents regarding officials of Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) asking for bribe to get work done, the newly appointed administrator has ordered to install cameras in every officer's room at HUDA office in sector 14. The control room would be set up in the administrator's office so that movements of babus could be carefully watched.

Similar step was taken four years back during the tenure of then HUDA administrator S P Gupta. According to an official working there for almost five years, installing cameras helped a lot in checking all sorts of malpractices. "People who were hardly seen in office started coming on time, property dealers feared entering HUDA premises, people's complaints were heard patiently and most importantly, the under-table income stopped for many. But after Gupta went, the same old practices started, with no one to put a check."

Close watch
In September, MiD DAY had carried a story on how a resident was running from pillar to post to get a completion certificate for his Gurgaon residence, but instead of complying with the rules and regulations, the concerned official was demanding a bribe of Rs 30,000. Tired of all this, he clandestinely made a video of one of the babus demanding Rs 30,000 from him in return for the completion certificate for his house in sector 47, Gurgaon. Later he showed the video to the senior officials of HUDA, who in return promised to take action against the errant employee as well as process his completion certificate at the earliest.

Estate officer (1), Narendra Singh Yadav said, "We have got standing instructions to install CCTV cameras in each and every room. In those rooms where cameras are already present but not functional, old ones will be replaced with new ones. We hope to complete this work as soon as possible."

Divine intervention!
Also, the new HUDA administrator, Parveen Kumar, has decided to conduct a havan at the HUDA head office, wherein the officials will have to take vows to work honestly. A list of dos and don'ts to all senior officials, including the estate officers and superintending engineers, has been issued. In a 27-point list, Kumar has touched areas like improving work flow and performance at the civic body. Apart from making the system corruption- free, Kumar has instructed the officials to ensure prompt RTI responses.

While many HUDA officials in Gurgaon are baffled with the way Kumar functions, residents are overwhelmed. "I hope all measures are strictly implemented rather than just being in the books," said Hemant, a sector 56 resident. "In connivance with the public servants, property dealers here have started behaving like god. They promise to get your work done, but demand money in return. This one is a welcome step," said Sonia Mathur, who bribed the officials to get completion certificate for her newly constructed house in sector 47.