Delhi needs a policy for city preservation

Delhi, a city with several archaeo-historically rich layers coexisting, like in Rome and Istanbul, desperately needs a holistic city preservation policy

Another building collapsed in Delhi on a street too narrow for rescuers to reach in time. One of the biggest problems in the infrastructure vision for the National Capital Territory over decades is the blind spot concerning some of Delhi’s oldest parts. This newspaper has routinely highlighted the plight of inhabited areas and even ASI monuments due to the systemic apathy displayed by multiple agencies, which often flout even court orders.

The thankless task of safety-first retrofitting is vital before any big-ticket plans are announced and executed. Fixing mixed-use inelegant old neighbourhoods promises neither votes nor prestige. But it saves human lives and heritage. (ANI)

Delhi, a city with several archaeo-historically rich layers coexisting, like in Rome and Istanbul, deserves and demands a policy that doesn’t focus only on building new structures or clumsily redeveloping some areas but preserves the city as a whole. The latest building collapse in Chawri Bazaar in Old Delhi, a centuries-old trading hub with some of the busiest neighbourhoods and narrowest lanes, has coincided with the announcement of an ambitious rehabilitation policy for Delhi’s slum areas. This highlights how the city’s unfashionable middle-class neighbourhoods rarely qualify for any redevelopment plans because logistical challenges do not fetch commensurate political or prestige rewards. Even in tourist pockets, authorities go no further than showpiece projects that can be photographed for publicity, just like Chandni Chowk’s short-lived pedestrian-only central avenue. The by-lanes where people live and trade cheek by jowl stay ignored.

Delhi desperately needs a holistic city preservation policy. The thankless task of safety-first retrofitting is vital before any big-ticket plans are announced and executed. Fixing mixed-use inelegant old neighbourhoods promises neither votes nor prestige. But it saves human lives and heritage. Delhi cannot exist much longer without mandatory structural and safety audits; clear delineation of accountability between the state and Central governments; coordination between MCD, DDA, and ASI; and swift police action against violations. It is collapsing under its own weight accumulated over centuries.