Activists protest move to change ‘park’ tag to make way for 33-storey south Delhi body headquarters

Civil society members cite the changing land use of green spaces and the location of the proposed building as the problem areas.

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation’s (SDMC) plan to change the land use of a green area to build its 33-storey headquarters on Ring Road hasn’t gone down well with residents and environmentalists, who want the civic agency to change its plan and protect green spaces.

The site where new SDMC’s headquarter is proposed at Ring road near Pargati Maidan in New Delhi. (Raj K Raj/HT PHOTO)

Last year, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had placed the proposal to change the land use of five acres of an eight-acre “recreational (district park)” to “government (G2)” in public domain to make way for SDMC’s headquarters.

The land use is yet to be changed. “We had scheduled a public hearing regarding the project last year but it was cancelled. A final decision regarding the land use change is yet to be taken,” a senior DDA official said.

Civil society members cite the changing land use of green spaces and the location of the proposed building as the problem areas. “The green areas are taken for granted by government agencies. They see the green areas as land banks and not as vital part of the city. They give token attention to air pollution by planting trees and are gradually taking over our green spaces for commercial gains,” environmentalist Diwan Singh said.

Residents questioned the location of the new headquarters, as it is on the eastern end of SDMC’s jurisdiction. “Najafgarh, Badarpur, Mehrauli, Vikaspuri and other neighbourhoods are under SDMC. There is no need for a new building. Even if it is a need, why can’t they look for a central location?” said Gaurav Gambhir, a resident of Malviya Nagar, who has started a campaign called Let’s Save Delhi in 2018.

Kanchi Kohli, environment campaigner and researcher with the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), said, “Conserving publicly accessible recreational and green spaces should be a priority of the government, bureaucracy and private developers....Any proposed change in land use needs to take a precautionary approach and be based on environmentally sensitive urban planning.”

The BJP-led South corporation has been vocal about the financial problems it will face with the implementation of the 5th Delhi Finance Commission recommendations. “It has been proved that trifurcation was a bad idea and there is a need to unify the three corporations....SDMC’s share in taxes has gone down, but they want a new building. This is just a way to usurp the green spaces in the city,” said Rajiv Kakria, social activist.

SDMC officials say the site is not yet developed as green space. “The land use of the area might be district park, but there is no park at the site. We have taken up several projects to increase green cover in our jurisdiction. Our projects are planned keeping in mind sustainable development of the city, ” SDMC mayor Narendra Chawla said.