The Hindu : New Delhi News : Policy-makers unhappy with draft Master Plan

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Thursday, Jan 06, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Policy-makers unhappy with draft Master Plan

By Lalit K. Jha

NEW DELHI, JAN. 5. Several bureaucrats and policy-makers of the Capital who were given confidential copies of the draft Master Plan for Delhi-2021 (MPD) this past week feel that it lacks the dynamism and vision that should have been associated with the national Capital.

Already four years behind its scheduled deadline of 2001, the Delhi Development Authority has in the past 10 days held two meetings with a select group of bureaucrats and policy-makers.

Experts who had access to copies of the draft observed that the MPD not only seems far away from ground realities, it might also become outdated even before it is notified. Several provisions of the MPD are practically not feasible for implementation, they said.

For instance, the draft MPD-2021 has proposed compulsory solar panels for public advertising, open area lighting, public utilities, streets and all establishments with a floor area of more than 300 sq. m. "Given the high level of dust pollution in Delhi, more than a dozen projects using solar energy have failed," said a top official present at the DDA meeting.

Similarly, while the draft MPD continues to favour electric crematoria in Delhi, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi experience reveals that these not only consume more electricity and are difficult to maintain but are also unpopular among the people, officials said. "There is no reference to alternative green fuels like CNG and LPG, which are now fast being preferred for cremation in different cities," the officials said.

While a majority of Delhiites do not have access to sewerage system, the MPD calls for a "twin'' drainage system, separating heavily polluted water from the slightly polluted one. "This seems to be highly impractical," observed a top DJB official.

At a time, when the world over major cities are emphasising on development of IT infrastructure, the draft MPD is quiet about it, noted a policy maker. Referring to the "jungle'' of overhead wires and cables of electricity, telephone and cable television, the policy maker said: "The draft has ignored it completely."

However, a well-known urban transportation expert from the Indian Institute of Technology said the draft MPD seems to be fascinated with the Metro. "It does not mention about the integration of Metro with other modes of public transportation," he said.

Another top Delhi Transport Corporation official said there was no plan to discourage private transport system. "While the Delhi Government has been trying to bring in high capacity buses, the draft MPD seems to have forgotten the need to create necessary transport infrastructure like modern technology buses which would take care of the needs of children, women and physically handicapped," the official said.

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