NEW DELHI: With the Union Urban Development Ministry closely looking at the recommendations of the Tejinder Khanna Committee report, the stage is set for unleashing urban reforms in Delhi with focus on the urban poor and their harmonious integration with the renewed development of the Capital.

Other focus areas include new building by-laws, codification of builders and property developers and also registration of property dealers who have mushroomed across the Capital over the years.

"We are still studying the recommendations of the Tejinder Khanna Committee. Simultaneously we are also reviewing finalisation of the Master Plan for Delhi-2021that would have inclusions from the Khanna Committee report. In addition, development of the National Capital Region (NCR) is also under serious consideration for which Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy has already announced initiatives. We want to come out with a comprehensive solution to the present problems and with firm measures in place to rein in the builder mafia and land grabbers,'' Union Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken told The Hindu.

Asserting that things would not be allowed to go astray as had happened earlier, Mr. Maken said all efforts were being directed towards harmonious growth of the Capital that would see the participation of all, particularly the residents' welfare associations.

Stating that the Tejinder Khanna Committee would be the mainstay of reforms in Delhi, Mr. Maken said it was for the first time that the issue of urban poor was being addressed in a comprehensive manner. "Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had directed that interests of the urban poor should be kept uppermost in the mind while planning the future of Delhi. Mr. Reddy has been working in this direction and has even asked the agencies and officials concerned to take up this road map. Congress president Sonia Gandhi has stated that no city can survive or thrive without addressing the concerns of the poor and the middle class. We are moving in this direction by adopting a holistic approach,'' he remarked.

On the issue of public land being encroached upon by the mafia, Mr. Maken said the Government would adopt a "very harsh'' approach towards such offenders.

At the same time, Mr. Maken said the Ministry with assistance from the Delhi Lieutenant-Governor B.L. Joshi was already in the process of addressing these concerns including codification of builders, property dealers and developers for regulated growth in future.

At the same time, he added, the Government was also toying with the idea of creating a new regulatory and enforcement mechanism to give a new direction to the developmental process and ensure that the law of the land was implemented in letter and in spirit.

"The building by-laws are outdated and need to be completely overhauled. They have to be kept in tune with the changing times and needs. There is also a need to explore the idea of expanding vertically rather than horizontally in view of scarcity of land in the Capital. All such things would be taken up for scrutiny and subsequent review when the new policy on urban reforms for Delhi is put on the drawing board for finalisation."

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