The Hindu : New Delhi News : "New Master Plan within three months"

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 15, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

"New Master Plan within three months"

Sujay Mehdudia

Everyone involved with its preparation is working hard to give it a final shape, says Ajay Maken

NEW DELHI: Assuring the people of Delhi that the Union Government is concerned about the various issues bothering them, Union Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken on Tuesday asserted that the Master Plan for Delhi-2021 that would be finalised within the next three months would bring relief to them.

Stating that everyone involved with the preparation of the Master Plan was working hard to give it final shape in tune with the changing times and pressure on land and resources, Mr. Maken said hopefully the entire exercise would be over in the next three months.

"I have already taken a number of meetings on the issue with the Delhi Development Authority and other concerned departments. I am holding interactions with the political parties and their representatives again on March 21 to get their final views on various issues including land use and alterations in DDA flats. This will provide us direction for taking up things at a higher level and come out with concrete proposals for the benefit of the people," the Minister told The Hindu.

Mr. Maken said the Tejinder Khanna Committee set up by the Union Urban Development Ministry was working towards providing long-term solutions to the problems being faced by the people of Delhi under various categories. The Union Government was also seized of the matter and trying to come out with a solution that was acceptable to all and also did not come in the way of the court orders. "We have full respect for the courts. We will abide by whatever they say and will also try and seek relief from them. This is an issue in which everybody has to work in complete harmony to retain the character of Delhi," he stated. Rejecting the BJP charge that the Master Plan was being delayed deliberately, Mr. Maken wondered what these BJP leaders were doing when their own NDA Government was in power at the Centre for six years.

"They came to power in 1998 and stayed for six long years. The Master Plan of Delhi expired in 2001 and they should have come out with the new document immediately. But the NDA Government failed to do so despite the fact they remained in power till mid 2004 and now they do not want to give even a few months time to the UPA Government to finalise the Master Plan. Had they been so concerned about the problems of the people, they would have hurried up things during their time."

Mr. Maken said it was only because of the inefficiency of the previous NDA regime that the people of Delhi were facing such difficulties.

Despite knowing very well that such issues were pending in the court and that they needed to be tackled at the highest level, the NDA Government sat on them.

"Unfortunately, the BJP leaders did not even raise their voice against this attitude of the own Central Government and they are now trying to derive cheap political mileage out of the sufferings of the people," Mr. Maken said.

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