‘No power for 12 to 18 hours’: These Gurgaon homes are ‘ready’, but residents still lack basics

Following the findings, authorities began scrutinising OCs issued between July 1, 2025, and March 15, 2026, and found that around 1,500 OCs had been issued prematurely. According to government sources, architects who did the spot visits are primarily to blame for providing OCs.

“We found around 1,500 such cases where OCs had been issued prematurely, despite the building not being complete. We blacklisted the architects concerned,” Gurgaon District Town Planner (Planning) Praveen Chauhan told The Indian Express.

In 2022, during the Monsoon Session of the Haryana Assembly, a reply to an unstarred question from then Badshahpur MLA Rakesh Daultabad revealed that only 93 realty projects in Gurgaon had obtained completion certificates from the Town and Country Planning Department since 1992.

Basic amenities missing

At ROF Alante, homebuyers who booked units years ago for just over Rs 20 lakh said they secured occupancy clearances around mid-2024 and were promised modern amenities.

With property values along the Dwarka Expressway soaring almost fourfold, occupancy surged. Roughly 450 families now reside there — up nearly ninefold over the past year — drawn by the society’s strategic location just 3 km off the expressway and under half an hour from the airport.

Yet, residents said, the reality on the ground is far from what was promised.

Outside Ambience Lagoon, next to Ambience Mall. (Express Photo by Abhinav Saha)

The complex has no proper approach road connecting it to the main thoroughfare, and there is no entrance gate. “How were the OCs and licences issued when the road to the entrance is incomplete?” a homeowner told The Indian Express on condition of anonymity.

“Getting out of the society is horrible… Last year, my car fell into a ditch near the entry. When it rains, it becomes worse. You can’t even drive,” they added.

Residents also claimed the society doesn’t have a dedicated electricity connection and they have to rely on power backup. “The builder hasn’t applied for a connection till date,” they said.

“If the power backup doesn’t kick in, we’re left with no electricity for 12 to 18 hours during the peak summer.”

There is no municipal water supply either.

The society relies on makeshift arrangements: water tankers and diesel generators. Around 10 tankers line up every day to provide water, while the developer pays the diesel bills to keep the power running. “Diesel costs tens of lakhs each month,” said another homebuyer.

Residents also flagged problems with the sewage treatment plant. “The STP doesn’t work. In parks, waste water is flowing… Our children are suffering from skin infections,” they claimed.

Another resident said parts of the society did not have a boundary wall in certain places. “The builder said there is a dispute with a farmer. Why wasn’t this checked earlier,” they complained.

When contacted, Alok Srivastava, Head, Facilities and Operations, ROF Group, claimed villagers have created problems in the execution of the project.

“All required materials are available at the site, all necessary statutory permissions and approvals for execution of the work have been obtained… However… certain local villagers have been creating undue hindrances in the execution of the project. They have obstructed work… and threatened project personnel deployed at the site,” said Srivastava.

He said they submitted several complaints to the local police station and civic authorities seeking their intervention and protection. “The matter was subsequently taken up with the Senior Town Planner, who forwarded the case to the Deputy Commissioner (DC), Gurugram; the DC appointed the SDM to inspect the site and get the work done by providing necessary police protection,” Srivastava said.

3 ‘missing’ acres

At Ambience Lagoon, the problem is of a different sort.

Lal claimed residents later went through the deed of declaration and found that the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of 1.75 had already been consumed on 10.98 acres. He alleged the builder had used up the remaining three acres meant for amenities, recreational activities and clubhouses.

“We homebuyers asked where the 3 acres is. The builder said it went into (building) the road outside our society,” he alleged.

He also flagged other “missing” amenities like a Sewage Treatment Plant and a club that was promised near its entrance.

He said while the society got an occupancy certificate in 2001, it is yet to get a completion certificate (CC). “A CC is very important. It gives you the exact area, location, and amenities. Now, if you don’t have a completion certificate, that means it’s sort of an ongoing project,” Lal said.

Following a challenge by residents and buyers to the commercial construction, the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2020 quashed the two de-licensing orders and directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to launch a formal probe.

In January 2026, the Supreme Court overturned the High Court ruling, holding that the directive had relied on unverified, inconclusive material and that ordering a CBI investigation was unwarranted.

Senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Mukul Rohatgi, representing the developers, argued in the SC that the High Court had “fallen in grave error” in entertaining the civil writ petition, which was filed after a long and unexplained delay of more than 10 years for “oblique purposes”.

They told the apex court that the approved layout plan for the Ambience Lagoon housing project clearly portrayed that it would be set up on 10.98 acres of land only.

When is an OC issued

Explaining when an Occupancy Certificate is issued, Renuka Singh, Senior town planner, Faridabad Metropolitan Development Authority (FMDA), said, “If external utility infrastructure has not reached a society, the licensees of the OC (builders) have to fulfill the terms and conditions of licence regarding provision of services on its own. These services include sewage treatment, water, electricity, etc. These are the terms and conditions of the licence.”

“A public health report is taken, and the department also looks at the structural stability report. There are field visits. If all the reports are okay, only then an OC is issued,” she added. 

“At the time of grant of Completion Certificate to the colony, everything is looked at. The STP, the Green area, streetlights and so on,” Singh said.