Delhi child rights body sends DDA suggestions on Capital’s 2041 Master Plan

The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) wrote a letter to the land-owning agency on Wednesday broadly covering five concerns.

The state body of child rights has suggested a slew of measures, such as creating more spaces for children in the Capital and changing land norms for educational institutions, to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) after a review of the draft Master Plan of Delhi 2041.

In the letter, the child rights body said that currently, 30% of Delhi’s population is below the age of 18, and the overall population of Delhi is expected to grow to about 39 million. (File photo)

The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) wrote a letter to the land-owning agency on Wednesday broadly covering five concerns. DCPCR chairperson Anurag Kundu said, “Based on the review, DCPCR has submitted its suggestions to DDA that range from earmarking more spaces for children and more creche facilities to reconsider land norms for educational institutes and diaper changing stations in public toilets.”

In the letter, the child rights body said that currently, 30% of Delhi’s population is below the age of 18, and the overall population of Delhi is expected to grow to about 39 million. Assuming, 30% of the overall population is still comprised of children, there will be around 11.7 million children in Delhi by 2041.

The commission also endorsed creating more crèche facilities to enable more women to join the workforce. “Availability of sanitary pads and robust disposal systems at public utility places is a key area of focus that the Commission recommends for the Authority,” said the DCPCR letter issued by the chairperson.

Kundu also explained the need to modify land norms for educational institutes in the Capital and link it to number of children it caters to instead of having a blanket minimum size.

“As per the draft Master Plan, development control norms for the educational institutions such as learning centre/creche states that minimum plot area for such institutions shall be 500 sq. meters with 10% variation in the size. However, past experience suggests, this approach of blanket cover of imposing a particular size limit serves little purpose as a lot of institutions do not fulfil these conditions and are thus rendered unregulated,” he wrote in the letter.

The commission has also asked DDA to make the infrastructure in the city more parent-friendly. “It is hard to carry a child for hours [in public places]. Parenting is hard and our infrastructure must make it easier. This requires re-envisaging our footpaths, roads, buses, and every other component of infrastructure,” said the letter. Apart from this, the commission also advocated for diaper changing facilities in public toilets for both men and women.

A message from HT to a DDA official requesting comment on the matter received no response.