North Delhi Municipal Corporation to develop shopping complex at Sant Nagar maternity centre

Aiming to generate revenue, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation has decided to develop a shopping complex within the Maternity & Child Welfare Centre at Sant Nagar, Rani Bagh.

Aiming to generate revenue, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation has decided to develop a shopping complex within the Maternity & Child Welfare (M&CW) Centre at Sant Nagar, Rani Bagh, and sell the shops for commercial use.

The North Corporation is now planning to demolish the old building and construct a new one, with space for commercial activities as well. (Reuters)

The current building of the M&CW Centre building, constructed on a 1,783 square metre plot, is in an extremely dilapidated condition, and demands had been raised several times to develop it as a primary urban health care centre.

The North Corporation is now planning to demolish the old building and construct a new one, with space for commercial activities as well.

As per the plan, first floor and half of the ground floor of the new building will be designated for the health care facility. Another half of the ground floor, and second and third floors will be kept aside for commercial outlets like retail shops, offices, guest houses, ATMs, restaurants, coaching centres and pharmaceutical outlets. The minimum reserve price for the commercial space would be Rs 24.96 crore.

According to him, the North Corporation has plenty of open spaces elsewhere at the premium location. “They can develop shopping complexes at those spaces for revenue generation. The current decision shows poor planning from part of the civic agency,” Goel said.

The North Corporation claims to take up the project after changing the land use of the place and procuring no objection certificates from all the concerned departments, including the health department and the standing committee.

“Guidelines of the Master Plan of Delhi-2021 allows for construction of a local shopping centre to serve a population of 10,000 persons in unauthorised regularised colonies. Rani Bagh falls under this category. Our decision has been taken as per guidelines of the Master Plan,” said a senior North Corporation official.