The Hindu : New Delhi News : Plan to `beautify' Rajpath shot down

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Apr 13, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Plan to `beautify' Rajpath shot down

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, APRIL 12. Taking its first major decision since its reconstitution recently, the Delhi Urban Arts Commission today put a spanner in the grand plans of the Union Ministry of Urban Development and the New Delhi Municipal Council to `revamp' the Rajpath-India Gate stretch. It has asked them to reconsider the project.

Terming the whole plan as something being done in haste and without proper assessment of the long-term ramifications, the DUAC is understood to conveyed to the Ministry as well as NDMC that they had failed to address the issue in detail. "There are no plans for management of traffic and no thought has been given to the fact when the Metro rail becomes fully operational, people would start spilling into this area. They have not thought about the long-term social impact of the project,'' a member stated.

The NDMC had recently under the guidance of the Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, decided to `beautify' and totally overhaul the historic Rajpath area. The plans had been severely criticised by conservationists, claiming that it was an attempt to tamper with the historic character of the area.

Apart from taking a decision on the Rajpath issue, the DUAC has also decided to open up channels of communication with the citizens of the city. And soon the average Delhiite might have a say in the development of the city. "Our website would be taken more seriously now. The idea is encourage people to start talking about issues.

There are also plans to set up local task groups so that interested people can contribute their suggestions,'' said a member of the DUAC after a Commission meeting today. While the website aims to encourage debate, it will also serve as a tool of information for architects. "Architects will be able to log on to the site to know the status of their project. It will give information about whether their file has moved or not,'' another member added.

Constituted earlier this month and being headed by the internationally renowned architect Charles Correa, the Commission also has eminent landscape architect M. Shaheer as well as historian Narayani Gupta as it members.

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