Assess before you plan, residents caution DDA

Residents Welfare Associations (RWAs) have pointed out several issues with MPD-2021 such as rampant commercialisation due to mixed land-use policy, frequent amendments to the plan regularise “illegal” developments and lack of implementation of the provisions under the plan.

Residents have questioned the way the next master plan for Delhi is being created, citing problems in the current blueprint which had to guide the city’s development till 2021.

Illegal parking is a big problem in Lajpat Nagar where mixed land-use was allowed. (HT Archives)

Residents Welfare Associations (RWAs) have pointed out several issues with MPD-2021 such as rampant commercialisation due to mixed land-use policy, frequent amendments to the plan regularise “illegal” developments and lack of implementation of the provisions under the plan. They said the next master plan should take into account “ground realities” and provide real solutions to local problems.

During a consultation session organised by the DDA with RWAs of plotted areas on Thursday, a majority of RWAs cited the problem of rampant commercialisation due to mixed land-use, which was allowed in MPD-2021. In the last 13 years, after the mixed land-use policy was implemented, residential areas have been commercialised leading to several problems such as congestion, parking and lack of security besides burdening the civic infrastructure.

Rajiv Kakria, convener, Save Our City campaign and a resident of Greater Kailash-I, said, “It has destroyed the residential character of neighbourhoods. Today, safety and security has become our foremost concern due to rampant commercialisation of residential areas. We don’t know who is entering our areas. It has destroyed the social fabric.”

A senior DDA official said, “A common concern expressed by most participants was regarding conflicts between commercial and residential uses and issues arising out of mixed land-use. The next MPD-2041 will look into these aspects.”

The Save Our City campaign, a collective of over 70 RWAs and civil society members, has sought reply from the DDA on 17 key issues related to transportation, health, city planning, poor implementation of MPD-2021, etc. They have also questioned the expertise of the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), which has been tasked by the DDA to prepare the MPD-2041.

“What is their expertise in preparing the MPD-2021? So many provisions of the MPD-2021 have been challenged in the court. Will those cases become infructuous?” said Kakria.

RWAs say that the DDA should first do an assessment of the impact of the current MPD-2021 on the city. “Over 250 amendments were made to MPD-2021. Instead of the city being developed according to it, the master plan was fixed as per ground realities. What’s the point of having yet another plan which is cut off from the ground realities? DDA should first do an assessment of the current plan,” said Pankaj Aggarwal, general secretary of Delhi RWA joint front.

Dwarka, a master plan subcity, is a case in point. Residents of Dwarka say that they had to face harrowing time in the initial years and struggle for everything from road infrastructure to water. “This is the condition of a master plan sub-city, which today has a population of nearly one million. Till date, we don’t have a vegetable and fruit market. We had to struggle to get regular water connection. Development of new areas should be linked to availability of essential resources such as water,” said Rejimon CK, founder of Dwarka Forum.

With waterlogging becoming an annual feature during monsoon season, RWAs also want the new master plan to focus on the sewer and drainage plan. While urban planners push for redevelopment, RWAs say, little attention is being paid to upgrade the age-old drainage and sewerage infrastructure.

Atul Goyal, president of URJA, a collective of RWAs in the city, said, “We have demanded an audit of the ‘Infrastructure available for sewer and drainage system in developed colonies and underdeveloped colonies’. It is essential, but a neglected part of overall planning.”

While several RWAs participated in the public consultation, they said that DDA should have issue-based discussion with residents. They said that issues of mixed land-use, transportation, redevelopment, development of unauthorised colonies, etc impact plotted colonies. They said that DDA should share their plan with RWAs and then ask for suggestions.

A senior DDA official said, “The main concerns highlighted by participants were about disconnected sewerage and road network, encroachment in unused land parcels, air pollution and parking management….Representatives of some colonies also highlighted issues of lack of footpaths, under-utilisation of tot lots, parks and other open spaces, dumping of garbage and construction waste, etc.”