Thursday, Jun 30, 2005
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Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | New Delhi
By Sujay Mehdudia
NEW DELHI: Ruling out the possibility of alterations in the height or other design of the 28-storey multi-crore civic centre building coming up in the heart of the Capital as demanded by the Delhi Urban Arts Commission (DUAC), the Municipal Corporation of Delhi Commissioner, Rakesh Mehta, on Wednesday asserted that advance payments had been made and work on the project had started making it impossible to introduce structural changes. "The construction of the landmark building has already begun. It cannot be reversed. The Malaysian construction company has been paid an advance of Rs. 20 crores and it has promised to complete the building within two years. The total cost is expected to be around Rs. 545 crores of which the loan component is Rs. 250 crores from the National Capital Region Planning Board. The project is a self-sustaining venture and will recover money by selling real estate space for which private consultants had been appointed,'' Mr. Mehta added. Mr. Mehta, who met the DUAC members after it had asked the MCD to reduce the height of the civic centre by at least 10 storeys, said there were certain misconceptions in the minds of the members and he had been able to address them to a large extent. Stating that a majority of the issues raised by the DUAC had already been taken care of, Mr. Mehta said he had told the DUAC that it was not possible to change the height or width of the building. Pleading that it was a government building and not a private sector venture, Mr. Mehta said the project was at such an advanced stage that there could be no meddling with the design or the plans. The civic centre, he said, had been long in the making. Approval from DUAC had come in nearly 15 years ago. The former Lieutenant-Governor, Vijai Kapoor, had also approved of the building plans and this was reason enough to believe that things were done according to the norms. Addressing the concerns of the DUAC members, Mr. Mehta said he had offered to construct a playground for the children of the adjoining areas. He said building of a library, art gallery and auditorium along with food courts were already incorporated in the building plans. "We are well aware of the social obligations involved and therefore adequate safeguards have been incorporated," he said.
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