Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda on Wednesday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party government over Gurugram’s recurring waterlogging, traffic congestion, sanitation and civic infrastructure problems, alleging that the city’s rapid growth has not been matched by adequate public infrastructure.Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters in Delhi, Mr. Hooda said Gurugram’s problems are visible across the country and accused the BJP government of failing to address them despite being in power for 12 years. “If Gurugram develops, the burden on Delhi will decrease,” he said, pointing to the thousands of people who travel daily from Delhi to Gurugram for work.Mr. Hooda said Gurugram, once regarded as a preferred destination for businesses and global companies, is now struggling to attract fresh investment because of poor civic management. He cited a Lok Sabha reply by Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal, who had said Gurugram did not face any major civic infrastructure-related problems. “Now, a Union Minister, who has been a continuous MP from Gurugram and has served as a Minister in the BJP government for the last 12 years, and who had earlier also represented Gurugram and served as a Minister in the UPA government, is saying that the problem of waterlogging in Gurugram is Congress’s legacy. His statement is unfortunate,” said Mr. Hooda, referring to Gurugram MP and Union Minister of State Rao Inderjit Singh.He also alleged that Mr. Singh did not attend a meeting convened by Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil at Haryana Bhawan to discuss waterlogging, flooding and related issues.Demanding greater financial accountability, Mr. Hooda sought a CAG audit of the ₹15,000 crore collected from Gurugram residents as external development charges and infrastructure development charges. He also demanded a special Central budget for Gurugram and accountability of the civic bodies.Taking a swipe at the city’s deteriorating infrastructure, Mr. Hooda said Gurugram has gone from being known as the “Millennium City” to “Guru-Jam”, “Jal-Gram”, “Gaddha-Gram” and “Kooda-Gram”. He claimed 12 people had died in the past two years due to drowning and electrocution, and said the city had witnessed a 48-hour traffic jam.Mr. Hooda also alleged financial irregularities in sanitation and drainage projects, claiming that Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority had spent ₹4,000 crore on drainage and ₹2,000 crore on sanitation over five years, despite persistent civic problems.He contrasted the situation with the tenure of the previous Congress government, saying the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram was established in 2008 and the city was connected to the Metro and Rapid Metro. He also credited the Congress government with developing Golf Course Road, constructing the Gurugram canal and completing 63% of the Dwarka Expressway work.Meanwhile, Mr. Rao met Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Wednesday and discussed waterlogging and garbage collection issues in the city. He urged the CM to question officials over their pre-monsoon assurances that the city would remain free of waterlogging. He called for an impartial survey of natural drainage channels and strict action against encroachments.Mr. Rao also suggested using underground pipelines to divert rainwater to artificial lakes, areas around the Najafgarh drain, Sultanpur and Damdama Lake for water conservation. Published - August 27, 2026 12:27 am IST