The Hindu : New Delhi News : Maken convenes all-party meeting on Master Plan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 28, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Maken convenes all-party meeting on Master Plan

Staff Reporter

For the first time such an input being sought from a vast spectrum of political leaders for the much awaited Plan

NEW DELHI: Taking the initiative to speed up the process of finalisation of the new Master Plan for Delhi, Union Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken has convened an all-party meeting at Nirman Bhavan here on Tuesday to discuss the inputs from political parties and their representatives for incorporation into Delhi Master Plan-2021.

Over 20 representatives of various political parties and heads of various wings of the Government will be present at the meeting to review the Master Plan. Prominent among those invited to the meeting are Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, DPCC president Ram Babu Sharma, Nationalist Congress Party leader Ramvir Singh Bihduri, Delhi BJP president Harsh Vardhan, Leader of the Opposition in Delhi Assembly Jagdish Mukhi, Janata Dal (S) leader Shoaib Iqbal, Leader of the House in MCD, Delhi Mayor, MCD Standing Committee Chairman and all the Members of Parliament from Delhi including those from the Rajya Sabha.

Mr. Maken said it was for the first time that such an input was being sought from a vast spectrum of political leaders for the Master Plan that is already late by five years. Blaming the previous National Democratic Alliance-led Government for adopting an indifferent attitude towards Delhi and its development, Mr. Maken said despite being six years in power, the NDA Government was not able to finalise the Master Plan for Delhi. The process that should have begun in 1998, three years before the expiry of the Master Plan-2001, got off to a start only years after the expiry of the plan. The present state of confusion and chaos with regard to various issues would not have occurred if the Master Plan of Delhi had been finalised and notified at the right time, he added.

Emphasising that it was important that views of the political parties and particularly the Delhi Government should find echo in the new Master Plan, Mr. Maken said his effort was to enlarge the role of the Delhi Government in this activity and also give an opportunity to present its point of view for incorporation in the new document. "We are going to finalise the new Master Plan as soon as possible. The exercise has been given a fresh impetus and things will fall in line very soon and all ambiguity about the future development of the city would stand removed," he added.

Mr. Maken, who took a review meeting on the Master Plan with the Delhi Development Authority last week, felt that DDA should now give up its role of a developer and the door of opportunities should be thrown open to private sector players. The monopoly of DDA over land should go and it should concentre on not only on infrastructure projects but also protect its land and property from being encroached upon by the land and builder mafia. "We hope to a gain a lot from the experience of the political leaders who are well aware of the ground realities. Their valuable inputs would help in preparing a document that is to the satisfaction of all and also protects the cultural identity, heritage and character of the Capital," he said.

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