India, Sept. 22 -- The first time I reported about a Gurugram Metro project was in 2016, when the Haryana government announced a plan to extend the Delhi Metro's Yellow Line from what is currently the Millennium City Centre station to Old Gurugram. The announcement had sent a wave of excitement through the city, particularly in older neighbourhoods, located to the west of the Delhi-Jaipur highway, as development there had stalled and infrastructure started crumbling, while shinier offices, wider roads, and the Rapid Metro came up in the more sought-after localities surrounding the MG Road, Golf Course Road, and Sohna Road.

But even back then, sceptical residents, planners, and developers suspected that the announcement was more political...