gurgaon

Updated: Aug 08, 2019 14:39 IST

I hate to say this. But Gurugram is far from being an inclusive city — a city that cares for the poor and needy. I see this written everywhere: in the fancy condos that have separate “service lifts” for maids, cleaners, drivers and vendors; in posh private colonies that place smart-looking, well-uniformed security guards, who, due to lack of a basic toilet facility, look for street corners to ease themselves; in the public parks where the rich park users ask workers to get up from the benches so that they could sit on them; on roads, where SUV owners honk incessantly at the poor cyclists in a hurry to get them out of the way.

Another recent incident highlights how discriminatory has the city’s outlook become. Many pedestrians have lost their lives while trying to cross the chaotic Shankar Chowk junction in Gurugram. A group of citizen volunteers had recently made the Shankar Chowk junction safer for pedestrians and cyclists by creating separate lanes for different traffic types. However, the cones and barricades were removed on the following day because they were said to be slowing down traffic. Also, the famous Golf Course Road has no room for pedestrians and cyclists. It’s frightening to see them feeling nervous on this road.

Is this city’s infrastructure and public places designed only for the moneyed class? What about the lakhs of those who provide us with daily critical support and without whose services the city will virtually come to a standstill. Most of these so-called migrant workers (we all are migrants too by the way) live ghettoed in Gurugram’s 35 odd villages, which lack basic amenities, including schools or medical facilities. They are bereft of any opportunities for upward mobility.

It is as if the city is “living in denial” as far as its villages and their residents are concerned. Estimates suggest that currently nearly half of Gurugram’s population lives in its 35 villages. Official figures, however, are very low.

Sikanderpur, a prominent village in Gurugram, is home to over 50,000 residents, but the 2011 census puts the figures as only 3,038. Village Mullahera too presently has over 90,000 residents but the official figure again is absurdly low. In fact, most villages here are bursting at their seams trying to accommodate the new influx of people.

How will the essential services like water supply, health care and family welfare centres be allocated to these villages if their real population is not taken into account?

Our preamble says we are a “socialist” country. This means we have promised ourselves to work towards eliminating inequalities in income, status and standards of life. However, very little actually gets directed towards the poor. Lack of awareness about their rights further adds to their plight. NGOs and corporate organisations (through Corporate Social Responsibility programmes) are helping fill some of the gaps, but philanthropy can only supplement government’s work. Besides allocating more resources, what we need from the government are systemic changes and wide-ranging reforms.

Recently, the cabinet approved the Code on Wages Bill, which proposes minimum wages to be set across all states in India. As per reports, it is supposed to be set at ₹178 per day, which is way lower than what the expert panel had recommended.

Wages apart, a complete set of reforms need to be brought about for workers to access social security benefits, health insurance, maternity benefits and protection from abuse. A National Policy for Domestic Workers is also on the cards to address some of these issues.

While the government and the NGOs do their bit, what is that we can do to make a difference?

Most of us have domestic workers that support us. Giving them adequate wages including sufficient holidays and ensuring safe working conditions is the least we could do. Besides, we can help them in their paperwork and documents for getting their Aadhaar cards/Voter ID cards made or opening bank accounts. We can educate them with the ongoing schemes of the government so that they can avail benefits such as medical insurance, etc. If they face sexual abuse at any workplace, we can direct them to the Local Complaints Committee in the deputy commissioner, Gurugram office. Helping their children get admissions in schools, or pitching in during medical emergencies can also make a world of difference to their lives. There is no end to individual social responsibility, but we must start somewhere.

Each time I visit an NGO school or see a local sports tournament where underprivileged children perform, I cannot help but admire the raw talent, the fire in the belly and the desire to do beyond their best in some of these children. All they need is someone to back them and realise their dreams.

Let there be no separate lifts. Let us make way for the fellow cyclist. Let us pledge to be a more humane, equitable and socially just.

@ShubhraGF (Shubhra Puri is the founder of Gurgaon First, a citizen initiative to promote sustainability in Gurugram through workshops and research books.