The Hindu : New Delhi News : Call for new building bye-laws

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 21, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Call for new building bye-laws

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, APRIL 20. The Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi, Vijai Kapoor, today said the building bye-laws in Delhi have become outdated, bulky and detailed in nature and there was a need to replace them with building codes as the implementation of these is the duty of the architects and while that of the building bye-laws is of the municipal functionaries.

Stating that building bye-laws are extremely complex and at times not transparent, Mr. Kapoor said they provide plenty of scope for corrupt activities and therefore there is a need to ask if one can do without the present system. Calling for the formulation of a new land policy, he said in the present system the Government acquires the land, at times against the wishes of the owner, and then does not take full possession for years leading to encroachment. It is therefore imperative to involve the land owner in the development process, he said, as this will ensure his cooperation and eliminate litigations and encroachment.

Participating in a consultative workshop on Unified Building Bye-Laws organised by Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Mr. Kapoor also called for encouraging amalgamation of plots since this would not lead to higher floor area ratio and would lead to greater provision for common facilities such as parks, green areas, community halls and gymnasiums.

Introducing the theme of the workshop, the Commissioner of MCD, Rakesh Mehta, said while over 80 per cent of people would like to follow the building bye-laws, the found them difficult to adhere to as these have become outdated and obsolete and possess a number of defects and limitations. Stating that new bye-laws are needed to take care of the citizens of Delhi, he said they need to be transparent and should preserve the green character of the Capital and its heritage.

The Vice-Chairman of Delhi Development Authority, Madhukar Gupta, in his address said after the promulgation of the Unified Building Bye-Laws in 1983 and the Master Plan of Delhi-2001 in 1990, there have been significant changes in economic policies and the whole governance process, dominated by deregulation, decontrol and decentralisation which has raised the need for integrating unplanned areas into mainstream planning process as they provide a major source of a variety of services to the city's population.

Stating that in this backdrop guidelines for the MPD-2021 were issued by the Ministry of Urban Development last year, he said these guidelines relate to evolving an alternative hybrid land policy for assembly and development of land, incorporation of unauthorised colonies in the mainstream of urban development, and providing a judicious mix of relocation and in-situ development of slum and jhuggi jhopri clusters.

Pointing out that the guidelines also call for preventing new growth of such clusters, redevelopment along Metro corridors, permitting suitable patterns of mixed land use, redevelopment and rejuvenation of old and dilapidated areas and review of decision making systems and procedures in the context of the need for deregulation, decontrol, speed and transparency, Mr Gupta said it would also be necessary to provide incentives and disincentives in the implementation of planning and building controls and to adopt innovative steps to mobilise the people and the private sector to trigger the process of self-generating and self-sustaining development and redevelopment.

Of the view that there is also a need for rethinking about the nature of architectural and building controls which are necessary for enabling better living conditions, Mr. Gupta said the focus of our regulations and controls should be on aspects pertaining to basic matters such as coverage, envelope, height, setbacks, parking services, floor area ratio and in certain cases, urban design related aspects.

Averring that there was also a need to address certain other issues relating to ambiguity of jurisdictions particularly with reference to lack of clear delineation of development areas and multiplicity of agencies, the Vice-Chairman said efforts are on to have a proper mapping done with a view to clarify the position in terms of notified development areas.

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