Armed with vision document for Badshahpur, Vardhan Yadav takes on veteran Rao Narbir in his bastion

Gurugram: Badshahpur constituency in Haryana is grabbing the eyeballs as a young Congress candidate, Vardhan Yadav, is giving sleepless nights to a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran, Rao Narbir Singh. 

A high-pitched campaign by 33-year-old Vardhan against 63-year-old Rao Narbir has turned the elections into a fierce contest between a young leader and an old hand.

To be sure that he is one up against his formidable rival, Vardhan has managed a line of senior leaders and celebrities to canvas for him. 

Vardhan has endorsements from Bhupinder Singh Hooda to Sachin Pilot and Deepender Hooda apart from Raj Babbar, his daughter Juhi Babbar, Shashi Tharoor, Bhojpuri actress Akshara Singh and actor Mukesh Rishi. 

Home minister Amit Shah has campaigned for Rao Narbir so far.

In his speeches, Vardhan, a national secretary of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC), spells out his vision document for Badshahpur, which is adjoining Gurgaon or Gurugram. 

As far as the infrastructure development is concerned, he plans to improve road quality and other infrastructure through regular infrastructure audits, upgrade intersections for smoother traffic flow, especially on Old Delhi Gurgaon road, Palam Vihar area, and Basai road, construct 7 signal-free underpasses or elevated flyover on SPR, expand the metro network with 50 km of new track, expedite completion of 24-metre sector roads in remaining sectors besides ensuring last-mile multi-modal connectivity by increasing the bus fleet from 150 to 600 and expanding routes from 35 to 150.

Vardhan, who in the past served as a general secretary of the National Students Union of India (NSUI), a students wing of the grand old party, has pledged to implement a comprehensive drainage system, connecting 150 km of existing drains and building 100 km of new ones to reduce waterlogging by 75%, with timely maintenance and repair, and ensure a clean, uninterrupted drinking water supply for all residents.

He has proposed to establish a world-class Art and Culture Centre and four international standard sports complexes in Farukhnagar, Palam Vihar, Badshahpur, and New Gurgaon apart from developing 500 acres of green spaces for recreation.

On the security front, Vardhan is keen to enhance safety with 10,000 new LED solar streetlights and 5,000 CCTV cameras at key locations, alongside more police posts and frequent patrolling.

His vision document also talks about removing the Kherki Daula toll plaza, a long-standing demand of the residents, and liquor shops near residential areas and schools.

Removing encroachments while protecting livelihoods by providing designated spaces for hawkers and vendors is also on his agenda. 

His priorities include addressing stray cattle and dog issues to ensure the safety of both citizens and animals.

Vardhan, a former Haryana NSUI chief, has also promised to ensure comprehensive healthcare access by setting up two civil hospitals, increasing polyclinics to 5, expanding Urban Primary Health Centres from 12 to 30 across the constituency, and implementing telemedicine services in all healthcare centres, covering 80% of the population.

He is keen to establish five Youth Innovation Centres, featuring Skill Enhancement and Incubation Centres, through partnerships with industry and academia.

Regarding legislative reforms, Vardhan has said that he will strive for getting the Haryana Registration and Regulation of Societies Act 2012 amended to empower RWAs and ensure accountability, with an RWA cell under HRERA for timely project handovers. He also wants to establish a special Home Buyer Cell in HRERA to implement a proper handover policy, streamline utility transfers, and resolve Builder-Resident issues.

Amending the GMDA Act 2017 to improve work quality, speed, and responsiveness by ensuring Gurugram’s representatives lead decision-making is high on his priority list.

He has also pledged to ensure EDC/IDC charges are exclusively used for GMDA's local development projects, as well as to review the stilt plus 4-floor policy.

Establishing an umbrella grievance redressal system with citizen monitoring and accountable nodal officers, empowering RWAs by creating a dedicated government funding channel, in addition to the allocation of 25% of the MLA fund, to support local development and community initiatives, facilitating monthly dialogues between government departments and citizen groups, such as RWAs and MTAs, for inclusive decision-making, promoting transparency and accountability in GMDA and MCG through a strong system of social audits and ensure regular elections to municipal bodies are the other highlights of his manifesto for Badshahpur. 

On the waste management side, he wants to implement a decentralised waste management system with zone-wise collection and treatment of solid and C&D waste, and in-situ treatment of wet waste, ensure the closure of the Bandhwari landfill and identify suitable locations to establish new sanitary landfills that adhere to scientific and environmentally sound practices, increase waste processing capacity from 8,600 tonnes/day to 15,000 tonnes/day, and ensuring 100% sewage treatment and zero discharge into natural water bodies by increasing capacity from 300 MLD to 500 MLD.

Stressing the need to strengthen environmental protection, Vardhan has said that he will strive to conserve the Aravalli Hills and develop 200 acres of urban forests in areas like Jharsa and Badshahpur, declaring them Protected Forests to limit agriculture and commercial activities nearby.

Apart from establishing a Green Gurgaon Fund through Government, CSR and citizen partnerships to preserve the city’s green spaces, he is for maintaining 70 existing water bodies and constructing 10 new ones using treated wastewater, redeveloping them as recreational spaces with facilities like boating.

The other key points include preserving natural drains and check dams, which are vital to the region’s ecology, granting protection to the Basai wetland to safeguard them as a natural sponge that reduces urban flooding.

Apart from building a green, eco-conscious city with sponge city design, clean energy, and smart environmental solutions, Vardhan has assured to establish centers for cutting-edge research and technology development.

Through his vision document, he has pledged to ensure modern transport, healthcare, education, and smart civic amenities for a city that works for everyone, make Badshahpur a thriving innovation and startup hub with public and private incubation and skill centres.

Vardhan has promised to foster spiritual growth and civic responsibility among youth and children through value-based education and community engagement, promote a harmonious, cosmopolitan culture where diversity thrives and communities come together, build transparent, accountable and citizen-centric public institutions ensuring good governance. 

On the other hand, Rao Narbir, whose BJP has been ruling Haryana for the past ten years, has vowed to construct an elevated road in Gurugram and new healthcare centres, including an advanced facility at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS).

Rao Narbir, who defeated veteran Rao Inderjit Singh in 1987 to become the youngest legislator to hold the office of the state’s home ministry at the age of 26, has also vowed to address issues such as traffic congestion and water scarcity.