A large group of residents of Greenwood City, including members of the residents’ welfare association (RWA), protested outside the Department of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) office on Tuesday against the demolition of a toe wall on August 26, alleging that its removal had resulted in severe waterlogging, particularly in Block A, affecting more than 1,000 families living in around 300 houses.
The RWA members alleged that the toe wall, which they said was constructed nearly 35 years ago, had helped prevent water from adjoining areas from entering the colony. RWA members stated that Unitech developed Greenwood City, a plotted residential colony in Sector 45, in the nineties. Residents claimed that the colony was established before Sector 45 was developed. “When the society had come up, there was no sector 45, and it came up almost a decade later. The residents further said Greenwood City’s internal drainage network was designed to cater to the colony and was not intended to receive runoff from adjoining Sector 45 and Kanhai village.
They alleged that the removal of the toe wall had therefore aggravated waterlogging in the colony. Because it had been constructed in violation of the rules, amit Madholia, district town planner, enforcement, said the toe wall was demolished. “I have assured the residents that their grievance pertaining to waterlogging will be taken up with the authorities concerned, and this will be resolved.
The residents also submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner, Gurugram, earlier in the day, seeking intervention and relief from the waterlogging and security concerns they said had arisen following the demolition. They also said its removal had opened three roads that were earlier blocked by the wall, turning them into throughfares and raising security concerns for residents. The toe wall has been protecting us from stray animals and waterlogging for more than three decades, and its demolition has caused a lot of problems for the residents,” said Ajit Punia, a resident of A Block. He said the residents’ concerns over waterlogging would be taken up with the concerned authorities but ruled out allowing them to construct another wall. However, the construction of a wall will not be allowed,” he said.
