India, Oct. 12 -- When entrepreneur-turned-resident activist Manjeev Aggarwal moved from Ambala to Gurugram in 2015, he imagined a city that represented India's modern future , a place of opportunity, order, and ambition. What he found instead was a city caught between rapid development and civic disorder due to pothole-ridden roads, chaotic traffic, flooding during every monsoon, and scattered garbage piles.

"Gurugram has everything, opportunity, infrastructure, schools, and parks but somewhere along the way, civic discipline got lost. The city moves fast, but its systems lag behind," said Aggarwal.

Now a long-time resident and general secretary of Tatvam Villas RWA on Sohna Road, Aggarwal has become one of Gurugram's most active citiz...