DP-based competition gives urban-planning students a voice

In a rare opportunity for urban planning students, they will have a say in the development of the city. The Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Mumbai, is organising

In a rare opportunity for urban planning students, they will have a say in the development of the city. The Observer Research Foundation (ORF), Mumbai, is organising a competition on the Development Plan (DP) 2014-34.

Bombay Municipal corporation headquarters in Mumbai. (HT File Photo)

To participate, students are required to submit a 300-word abstract from the short-listed DP-related subjects before July 17.

Following the selection of abstracts, selected students will submit a research and solution-oriented paper - which will be published - and present their ideas at ORF.

Dr. Ramanath Jha, officer on Special Duty (OSD) for the revised draft DP lectured a group of 250 students on the challenges, research, study and solutions behind the drafting of the DP on Saturday at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Fort.

He concentrated on the errors in the old DP and how his team tried to rectify them in the new one, which is open to suggestions and objections from citizens.

He discussed affordable housing, amenity standards and transit-oriented developments, which were criticised by citizens and activists.

“One of the challenges we faced was that the city is already developed. This limited our scope. There is a land crunch,” he said.

“There has been a deficit in the city due to the unimplemented development plans of 1964 and 1991. We have concentrated on implementing them in the 2034 DP,” said Jha.