A resilient, adequately planned and effectively maintained civic infrastructure was an essential component of a safe, dignified and rights-compliant urban environment, the Haryana Human Rights Commission has observed, while taking suo motu cognisance of recurring waterlogging in Gurugram.

The three-member Commission led by Chairperson Lalit Batra, in a 17-page order, sought a conjoint compliance report from various agencies and suggested a series of measures to strengthen and improve the city’s civic infrastructure, including a comprehensive infrastructure audit, an integrated urban drainage and civic infrastructure revamp plan, mapping of natural drains and encroachments, measures to ensure the safety of schoolchildren and an emergency mobility plan.

Referring to media reports on extensive waterlogging in different parts of the city following heavy rain last month and the inconvenience caused to residents, particularly schoolchildren, the Commission said the matter had “a significant constitutional and civic planning dimension”.

Referring to Articles 21, 47 and 48A of the Constitution, the Commission said adequate drainage and sanitation were essential civic requirements and deficiencies could adversely affect public health, hygiene and the dignified living conditions of residents.

“Gurugram’s drainage problem requires an integrated City-wide Civic Infrastructure Revamping Plan rather than isolated point-wise interventions,” the Commission said, stressing that “school children should not again be placed in a situation where they remain stranded in school buses for several hours during extreme rainfall”.

The Commission said Gurugram, as a major urban and economic centre, needed civic infrastructure commensurate with the “scale, density and intensity of its population, built environment and economic activity”.

Repeated disruption of roads, schools, emergency services, water supply and ordinary mobility during heavy rainfall could not be treated as an unavoidable feature of urban life, it said.

The Commission clarified that it was not, at this stage, recording a final finding of violation and that the proceedings were aimed at ascertaining the factual position.

It observed that persistent and foreseeable failure of essential civic infrastructure, if attributable to neglect or inadequate planning, could have a direct bearing on “the enjoyment of human rights”.

A taxi driver allegedly killed a man following a dispute over the fare for a journey from Gurugram to Delhi and later called his wife and son to help conceal the body in West Delhi’s Naraina Vihar. All three were arrested on Friday night, the police said on Saturday.

The identity of the deceased, estimated to be between 30 and 35 years old, is yet to be ascertained.

The incident took place on August 17. The police found the naked, blood-stained body of the man on a pavement in C-Block, Naraina Vihar. The deceased had a deep injury on the right side of his head and multiple injuries on his body.

“There was also a distinctive heart-shaped tattoo with an arrow on his left forearm, bearing the names ‘Anand’ and ‘Renu’. The site had blood and pieces of an earthen-pot-like object nearby,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Hareshwar Swami said.

The body was shifted to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for a post-mortem examination. Crime and forensic teams inspected the site and an FIR was registered in connection with the murder.

The police scanned CCTV footage from the area and adjoining routes. A suspicious car was seen moving near the crime scene around the time of the incident. The vehicle was traced to its owner, Rajinder Kumar, alias Annu, 59, who was apprehended within four hours of the FIR being registered, the police said.

Dispute over fare

During interrogation, Rajinder allegedly told the police that he had picked up the deceased from IFFCO Chowk in Gurugram. A dispute allegedly arose during the journey over the fare, which was around ₹1,000 to ₹1,500.

As the passenger refused to pay the amount, Rajinder allegedly assaulted him with bricks and an earthen pot, causing fatal injuries, the police said.

He then called his wife, Kamini Mukhija, 50, and son, Laksh Makhija, 28, to the spot. The two allegedly helped him conceal the deceased’s clothes and dispose of evidence related to the vehicle used in the crime.

The police recovered the deceased’s shoes and clothes at Laksh’s instance. The car allegedly used in the offence was also recovered based on information provided by Kamini, the police said.

“We scanned hundreds of CCTV recordings to corroborate the sequence of events and establish the movement of the accused, the deceased and the vehicle. We are yet to identify the deceased,” Mr. Swami said.

Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Bhatia on Thursday urged the Centre to set up a circuit bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Gurugram, saying it was crucial for improving access to justice and easing the burden on litigants.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour in Parliament, Mr. Bhatia said the High Court’s location in Chandigarh compelled litigants, lawyers, and businesses from several districts of south Haryana, including Gurugram, Faridabad, Nuh, Palwal, Rewari and Mahendragarh, to travel long distances for hearings.

“This leads to higher litigation costs, loss of time, and delays in justice delivery,” he said.

He said Gurugram had emerged as a major IT, financial, corporate and start-up hub, generating a large number of cases related to commercial disputes, labour matters, land acquisition, arbitration, taxation and insolvency.

Citing Article 39A of the Constitution, Mr. Bhatia said the State was obligated to ensure equal access to justice. He added that under Article 21, speedy justice was an integral part of the right to life and personal liberty.

He urged the Centre to conduct a feasibility study for setting up a circuit bench in Gurugram in coordination with the Haryana government and the High Court.

According to him, such a move would help reduce case pendency, ensure timely justice, and boost investor confidence in the region.

The Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), Gurugram, has approved 51 projects between January and June 2026, involving investments of nearly $4 billion (nearly ₹38,000 crore), according to data released by the authority on Wednesday.

Eleven of the 51 approved projects account for a cumulative investment of approximately ₹25,000 crore, underscoring the scale of real estate development in Gurugram.

The 51 projects cleared in the first six months comprise 16,727 units. Of these, 15,403 are residential, 1,084 commercial, and 240 industrial units. “The Gurugram real estate market is dynamic and is attracting the best real estate players of the country, who are launching high-value luxury products at regular intervals. It reflects the confidence of stakeholders in Gurugram’s long-term growth story and sustained demand from investors and homebuyers,” the authority stated in a release.

Faster approvals, stronger regulatory oversight and improved compliance mechanisms have encouraged domestic and institutional investors to participate aggressively in the market, it added.

In 2025, Gurugram RERA had attracted investments of nearly ₹87,000 crore across 131 projects. The authority had credited several institutional reforms for the uptick. These include rigorous scrutiny of information submitted by promoters during project registration, mandatory site inspections by domain experts, compulsory filing of quarterly progress reports and mandatory public consultation through public notices before registration. RERA Gurugram has also streamlined its dispute resolution process to reduce the backlog of complaints and provide quicker relief to homebuyers.