NEW DELHI: Residents and activists who had raised the issue of construction of malls and office complexes on the Southern Ridge near Vasant Kunj in violation of various laws, have expressed their dissatisfaction with the public hearings which had been called by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee in the wake of a Supreme Court order.

Construction site

Describing the hearings as a "farce'', the petitioner in the case, Onkareshwar, said not only were the hearings held 10 km from the construction site, the hearing for each of the seven constructions was taken up separately to dissuade people from coming in and filing their objections. Moreover, as the hearings were spread over two days, it meant that those wanting to speak out had to take two days off from work. "The attempt was obviously to minimise the number of concerned citizens who can make it for this public hearing."

Though representatives of five villages had gone to the Deputy Commissioner's office to demand a single hearing for all the constructions in any of the nearby localities, that did not happen.

Slum dwellers

The issue, he said, had also agitated slum dwellers in Kusumpur Pahadi, some of who had been evicted from Lal Khet jhuggis on the same portion of the Ridge. "Their argument is that if our houses could be demolished on grounds that we were encroaching onto Ridge land, how could the malls be allowed to come up on the same land? Are there different sets of rules for the poor and the rich?"

The petitioner said the analysis of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has revealed that the seven buildings will use water that is sufficient for 20,000 people. They will consume electricity that is enough for 80,000 middle class people or 1,50,000 urban village people. These structures would discharged 18.11 lakh litres of sewage each day, create 13,500 kg of garbage every day, lead to five-fold increase in peak time vehicular traffic, increase average pollution levels by close to 50 per cent and noise pollution by over 50 per cent.

What is worse, Mr Onkareshwar said, the constructions are in complete violation of the conservation status of this area. Ridge as according the Geological Survey of India 1997 is strictly protected by all the Master Plans, which state that `the Ridge must be maintained in its pristine glory and no further infringements are permitted'.

Stating that no non forest activity is permitted here and it is also a vital water recharge area, he said while the Ridge had 14 water bodies -- protected by Government notification -- all had gone dry due to the illegal extraction of water by the Grand Hotel, Army and Delhi Development Authority.

Green buildings

At the public hearings, it was pointed out that the seven structures were pieces of wonderful architecture and engineering and would be "green'' buildings as they would seek to conserve energy. However, the petitioner said, what was not explained was why such green buildings should be built on a totally protected ridge and forest area that is the main recharge area of the underground aquifer.

Notification

It was pointed out that the Ridge status is independent of notification. While DDA has contended that in 1994 some areas on the Ridge were notified as Reserve Forest under the Forest Act and the rest were left out, it has not been able to explain why it was so.

Also, despite knowing the status of the Ridge, DDA went ahead with the auctions that have led to the present stand-off.

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