Gurgaon, India is a city where normal functions of a local government do not apply — because there is hardly any government at all.

Instead, private corporations dominate the city, offering sewage removal systems, firefighting services, health care, and education.

"The interesting thing about Gurgaon is that because there was a market for it, anywhere the government was lacking, the private sector came in and they provided the service," says Shruti Rajagopalan, an assistant professor in economics at Purchase College, State University of New York

As locals have discovered, however, that doesn't always mean Gurgaon is paradise.