Master plan amendments: Will address all concerns flagged by Supreme Court, says DDA

The amendments allowed a uniform floor-area ratio (FAR) of 350 for shop-cum-residential plots, use of basements to run businesses and rationalisation of conversion charges. The DDA has also banned pubs and clubs in residential areas.

After the Supreme Court rapped the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) over the proposed amendments to Master Plan of Delhi (MPD) 2021, the land-owning agency on Tuesday said it would file an affidavit addressing all concerns flagged by the apex court.

A sealed office in N- Block, Connaught Place. In compliance with the Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee, illegal commercial establishments are being sealed across Delhi. (Sonu Mehta/HT PHOTO)

“We will put all master plan amendments in an affidavit and will soon file it in the court,” said Udai Pratap Singh, DDA vice chairman.

Leader of Opposition in Delhi assembly Vijender Gupta, also a member of DDA, said that the concerns expressed by the apex court were of “prime importance” and deserve consideration. “The government needs to review the changes in context of their impact on environment and public safety,” Gupta said.

After a five-day public hearing on proposed changes to the master plan, the DDA approved the amendments on February 27. The amendments allowed a uniform floor-area ratio (FAR) of 350 for shop-cum-residential plots, use of basements to run businesses and rationalisation of conversion charges. The DDA has also banned pubs and clubs in residential areas.

Gupta, who was also a member of Board of Enquiry (BoE) set up for the public hearing, said he would meet the DDA vice chairman on Wednesday to urge him to find a legally and constitutionally tenable solution, which could meet the court directions for environment and public safety.

“No government can take the issues of environment and public safety lightly. No government can even think of compromising with public safety particularly in context of tragedies like Uphaar, Kamla Mills and Bawana,” he added.

Political parties trade blame

Ajay Maken, Delhi Congress president, said the blame for the issue lay with the Union urban ministry, which controls the DDA. “The amendments approved by DDA have already been there. Additional FAR and commercial use of basements were already approved by the UPA government in 2008 and 2013 respectively. This is an apparent move to put pressure on traders to fill the coffers of the municipal corporations,” he said.

Manoj Tiwari, the Delhi chief of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said the SC decision is disappointing for the traders, but the matter will be pursued appropriately in the apex court by the Central government. However, Tiwari criticised the Delhi government’s “silence” on the issue.

“It is sad that Delhi government is sitting like a silent spectator and did not raise the cause of city traders in the court,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said the BJP had never intended to provide relief to the traders. “The BJP went through the amendments to show that it wants the sealing drive to be stopped. The AAP was apprehensive that these amendments are not enough to stop the sealing drive. The SC ruling had proved our point. The AAP government has nothing to do with the sealing action,” said AAP leader Dilip Pandey.

Hitting out at the BJP, AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “The sealing of shops has been going on for the last three months. We have been saying from the start that the BJP is misleading shop owners. Despite tall claims by Vijender Gupta, the sealing drive has not stopped. Today, the BJP-ruled municipal corporations and the DDA stand exposed.”