E-Paper
Will amend rules to allow gyms in residential areas: Puri
New Delhi
New Delhi
Union housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said the Master Plan of Delhi-2021 will be amended to allow fitness joints such as gyms, yoga and meditation centres in residential colonies.
The minister’s statement came after a delegation of BJP leaders from Delhi and gym owners called on him to discuss the Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee’s order to seal all such centres that came after August 12, 2008.
After meeting the BJP delegation led by state chief Manoj Tiwari, Puri said, “We had taken a decision after talking to Delhi L-G and DDA officials. Gyms and fitness centres are allowed in commercial areas. A letter to that effect can go to the Supreme Court -appointed monitoring committee. As for residential areas, we have decided to bring in an amendment in the Master Plan of Delhi-2021.”
“For residential areas, gyms and fitness centres in residential areas have a larger benefit as people can walk to these centres. There is no point relocating these centres as it will lead to traffic and pollution problems,” he said.
The monitoring committee had recently ordered the three civic agencies to seal fitness centres in the city which have come up after August 12, 2008.
Tiwari said, “We had requested the minister to provide relief to gym owners. He assured us the government will amend the master plan. There are people who are trying to create panic in the city.”
Explaining the “anomaly”, Vijender Gupta, leader of the opposition in the Delhi Assembly said, “The master plan was amended to provide relief to gym owners wherein the cut-off date was set as August 2008. As per the MPD-2021 provision, no new gym is allowed either in commercial or residential areas after the cut-off date. An amendment in the MPD will address the problem.”
Rajya Sabha MP Vijay Goel also met Delhi lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal in this regard.
BJP protest
Goel and Gupta staged a protest against Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal for allegedly “insulting Purvanchalis and people from other states”. Kejriwal had recently cited the example of patients from Bihar who come to the national capital for treatment while explaining the reason for long queues in government hospitals.
Goel said, “ He has insulted the people from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and other states. People coming from Bihar and UP have contributed to all-round development of Delhi. These people work honestly for their livelihood.”
