Ajay Maken slams Kejriwal, Centre over sealing drive

NEW DELHI: Accusing the Centre and the state government of poor handling of the sealing drive, Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken has sought appointment from the Union minister for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to discuss the matter.

Maken, who was holding the charge of urban development minister when the Master Plan of Delhi (MPD) 2021 was notified in February 2007, said he would explain how the sealing could be stopped in the National Capital.

“I can say with confidence that to save Delhi from sealing, many amendments had already been made in MPD 2021 and according to the amended master plan and the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second Act, 2011, no sealing can be carried out in Delhi,” read Maken’s letters, which were sent on Saturday to Puri and Kejriwal.

Maken said several amendments have already been made in the MPD. “Additional floor area ratio and commercial use of basements were already approved by the UPA government in 2008 and 2013 respectively. They are deliberately creating such a situation so as to put pressure on traders and to extort in the name of conversion charges,” he said. NEWDELHI: With the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and municipal agencies facing the Supreme Court’s ire over their inability to control haphazard construction, the focus of public attention has been brought back to the much-disputed application of Local Area Plans (LAPS). As per the mandate of Master Plan of Delhi (MPD) 2021, ward-wise LAPS were to be formulated by the civic agencies in consultation with local councillors and residents.

Under the LAP pilot scheme, area-specific plans for 33 wards were initiated in 2008. After the completion of the pilot project, plans for the remaining 239 wards and 2,000 unauthorsied colonies were to be initiated. However, the project had to be shelved after a “dispute” arose between DDA and erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

Stating that there were some “issues”, which held the LAPS in abeyance, DDA vice chairman Udai Pratap Singh said appropriate measures will be taken for the smooth execution of LAPS in MPD 2041. “The municipal corporations do not have planners and funding remains an issue. All those points are being addressed in MPD 2041. If they (civic bodies) require hand-holding, the DDA will also do that. We will not leave space for any lacuna. The civic bodies will be made accountable this time,” said Singh.

MASTER PLAN VS LAPS

The MPD is a long-term plan for guiding the sustainable planned development of the city, which lays down the planning guidelines, policies, and space requirements for various socio-economic activities in consonance with city’s population. However, LAP is a blueprint for a specific area with a given timescale.

The concept of LAPS was introduced in the MPD 2021.

MCD proposed to create a fourmember committee for the preparation of LAPS 10 years ago.

However, the actual groundwork started only in 2010 after experts from School of Planning Architecture (SPA) and Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) were engaged.

The corporation chose 33 wards including Chandni Chowk, Najafgarh, and Jahangirpuri for its preliminary study.

“Funds were provided to MCD, but nothing moved beyond the pilot project. As the dispute aggravated, the corporation refused to continue the project saying that the MCD Act does have provision for LAPS. The matter landed at the L-G’S doorstep but could not resolved,” AK Jain, former commissioner (planning) of DDA, who was associated with MPD 2021.

Jain added that civic body’s political “compulsion” may have led to MCD’S reluctance.

“Had the LAPS been in place, they would have brought clarity in terms of classification of stretches like commercial, mixed land use or residential area. Instead of clarity, the political leaders in the corporation wanted the vagueness to linger as they did not want to displease their vote bank,” Jain said.

Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor, Subhash Arya, who was the Leader of House at the time, said it was wrong to blame elected wing for the abandonment of LAPS. “I have been fighting for the cause of traders and master plan amendments for 12 years. Despite the fact, I am not member of any municipal corporations at present but making efforts to find out solution for the problem. We did not get requisite support from the executive branch,” he said.

Former MCD commissioner KS Mehra said the jurisdiction issue between then MCD and DDA had resulted in a deadlock. “It was not clear which agency would do what,” he said.

“If the exercise had been com- pleted and implemented, it would have emerged as a development model for the rest of the city,” Mehra added.

The preparation of LAPS of 33 wards was initiated when Mehra was at the helm of unified MCD.

ACCUMULATIVE DEVELOPMENT

Citing the example of Jahangirpuri ward, Mehra said LAPS would have been facilitated to maintain hygiene and systematic development in each ward.

“The corporation could demarcate the land for facilities such as community centre, school, dispensary, and park. Adequate width of roads would have improved accessibility. Then the corporation could send garbage collectors to interiors of a locality. Area for vertical development could be earmarked as well. This would have revolutionised rehabilitation of residents of unauthorised or slum colonies like the DDA is doing in Kathputli colony,” Mehra said.

Taiyaba Munawer, who teaches in Faculty of Architecture and Ekistics at JMI, said prompt and participatory LAPS with periodic review is the solutions for abatement of the chaos in the city.

“The reviews are important for it being related to the realities. After all, a master plan is a policy document and can always be reviewed and amended,” she said.

Jain said for effective LAPS, the municipal corporations should be empowered and vacancies be filled on time.

“The corporations do not have support system. Their town planning department has been ineffective particularly after trifurcation. There should also be coordination between DDA and civic bodies, during planning, the local agencies are not consulted,” he said.

AK JAIN, former commissioner (planning) of DDA