To turn the national capital of India into the commercial capital of the country is something that one expects the people of Delhi to be enthusiastic about. But Mumbai, for all its wondrous qualities, is a grand example of what a city should physically not become. Even the most ardent critic of Delhi will admit that its ‘planned’ nature has been a protection against its turning into an urban sprawl. The ‘confusion’ over the mushrooming of commercial establishments in residential areas and the construction of illegal structures over the years have, however, put Delhi’s ability to hold back metropolitan dysfunction at serious risk.
Cities across India are prone to sink under the weight of its growing, amorphous character. But as in Kolkata, where pell-mell urban growth is being checked by sticking to urban planning blueprints especially in its satellite ‘towns’ like Salt Lake, urbanisation need not be a kosher way of saying ‘sprawlisation’. Since February this year, the tug-of-war between the Supreme Court and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) over what contraband structure to demolish and what illegal establishment to seal has only heightened the impression that this city’s fate hangs in balance. As a statutory body, the MCD is clearly one of the culprits — either by being in cahoots with law-breaking citizens or by looking away each time an extra floor is built or a shop is illegally set up. Now, it seems that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) wants to amend the Master Plan 2001, the city’s blueprint that lays down what’s
legitimate and what’s not. Going by its past record, this move looks suspiciously
like another strategy to sidestep the Supreme Court’s directive of damage control and to block future acts and policies of urban anarchy. But hoping that the Urban Development Ministry is reaching for the golden mean of pragmatism and legality, the authorities should see to it that there is a proper, watertight Master Plan soon. For far too long, citizens have been rewarded for breaking urban laws and punished for keeping them. In the end, it is about protecting our cities — whether a to-be-protected one like New Delhi, or a to-be-rescued one like Mumbai.
legitimate and what’s not. Going by its past record, this move looks suspiciously
like another strategy to sidestep the Supreme Court’s directive of damage control and to block future acts and policies of urban anarchy. But hoping that the Urban Development Ministry is reaching for the golden mean of pragmatism and legality, the authorities should see to it that there is a proper, watertight Master Plan soon. For far too long, citizens have been rewarded for breaking urban laws and punished for keeping them. In the end, it is about protecting our cities — whether a to-be-protected one like New Delhi, or a to-be-rescued one like Mumbai.