For several years now, hundreds of families living in housing colonies across Gurgaon have faced a daily struggle in commuting to and from their homes and the city. The reason? Their societies do not have proper approach roads connecting them to main roads.
In many cases, the roads are either too narrow, incomplete, or built on land that was never permanently acquired — leading to traffic congestion and serious risks during emergencies.
While presenting the Haryana State budget on Monday, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini acknowledged the scale of the problem. “It is evident that in Gurugram today, hundreds of licenced colonies exist where access roads are only two-karam wide at certain locations and four-karam wide at others. Lakhs of families are facing hardship due to this issue. I have resolved that a permanent solution to this problem will be worked out during 2026–27.”
He also announced that the Transferable Development Rights (TDR) policy will be used to resolve the issue. Under this, land acquisition process for the development of these 24-metre roads will now be initiated and the expenditure incurred will be recovered from builders.
What exactly is the issue?
When many of these societies were launched, developers advertised 24-metre-wide access roads. This is as per the Gurgaon Master Plan 2031, where 24-m roads are mandated for internal sector roads in newer residential sectors.
However, on the ground, several of these roads are only 2-4 karam wide (around 3.36-6.72 metres), partially constructed, or laid out on private agricultural land without permanent acquisition or legal easement rights.
In August 2025, Haryana Industries and Commerce Minister Rao Narbir Singh had directed that no Occupancy Certificates (OC) shall be issued to builders in Gurgaon unless they construct the approach roads promised to buyers.
Singh, at the time, had criticised builders for advertising wide roads during pre-booking, only to fail to construct them, often due to land ownership disputes. These roads are later closed, causing significant inconvenience to residents, including disrupted commuting and issues with sewage treatment plant connectivity and other essential services.
Why is it resurfacing now?
The issue has gained urgency amid repeated protests by Gurgaon homebuyers over incomplete approach roads.
In 2025, residents of Alante Society near the Dwarka Expressway had protested against an incomplete 24-metre approach road. The 728-flat project, developed under the Haryana Affordable Housing Policy, began allotments last year.
The issue of lack of approach roads also reached the courts.
Last month, the Supreme Court ordered a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into alleged irregularities in the development of the DLF Primus project in Sector 82A. Petitioners alleged that part of the only 24-metre access road was constructed on privately rented agricultural land without permanent acquisition, effectively leaving the project vulnerable to being cut off.
How did this situation arise?
The CM, in his Budget speech on Monday, explained the issue.
“It is necessary to understand how licenses were granted to such colonies,” he said.
“Under the Master Plan 2001 of Gurugram, no such problem arose because HSVP [Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran] acquired land and constructed internal 18-metre roads in all sectors. But after the Master Plan 2021 was implemented in 2007, no land was acquired by HSVP for any road measuring 24 metres in width nor has the cost of land acquisition for these roads been included by the Government in the EDC amount payable by builders taking licences for private colonies.”
The CM then blamed previous regimes for the situation. “The Minister of the then government should clarify why such a decision was not taken, as hundreds of colonies developed between Sector 58 and Sector 115 are today deprived of access through 24-metre roads.”
What does the fresh announcement mean for residents?
Saini said that in 2016, then CM and now Union Minister Manohar Lal implemented the TDR policy to resolve this issue.
The policy is a framework allowing landowners to receive TDR certificates rather than money as compensation when their land is acquired for development projects such as roads or public utilities. The certificates can be sold in the open market, and/or purchased by companies, to enable them to expand the saleable area of real estate projects.
Saini added, “As the desired results were not achieved, a revised TDR policy was introduced in 2021, under which only 140 acres of land have been obtained so far. The land acquisition process for the development of these 24-metre roads will now be initiated, and the expenditure incurred will be recovered from builders.”
If implemented effectively, it could provide long-term relief to thousands of residents currently grappling with inadequate and disputed access routes.
Source – Indian Express
