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Members walk out of DDA meeting

Staff Reporter

In protest against non-inclusion of their suggestions in the minutes of the meeting

NEW DELHI: Non-official members of the Delhi Development Authority walked out of the Board meeting called to discuss the proposed new Master Plan for Delhi-2021 on Thursday. The members, who were protesting against non-inclusion of their suggestions in the minutes of the previous Board meeting held on December 29, resumed the meeting only after officiating Lieutenant-Governor A.R. Kidwai directed the DDA to incorporate their suggestions that largely pertained to seeking relief for the people from the ongoing sealing and demolition.

Mr. Kidwai, who had called the agitating members along with Delhi Chief Secretary R. Narayanaswami and DDA Vice-Chairman to his suite to pacify them, also gave the DDA time to incorporate the suggestions into the Master Plan before the next meeting. If the suggestions are not incorporated by the DDA till then, he said, another meeting would be held so that all the members are satisfied.

The DDA Board then took up the discussion on mixed land use. During the three-and-a-half hour discussion, the non-official members again raised several points pertaining to providing relief to the citizens from the ongoing sealing and demolition.

DDA Member and MLA Mahabal Mishra demanded that nursing homes be allowed on all the roads provided they meet the other criteria as allowing them only on 60-feet-wide roads will lead to closure of about 90 per cent of them and deprive the residents of regularised, unauthorised and resettlement colonies of accessible and affordable treatment.

He also demanded that under mixed land use all schools, gymnasiums, professional coaching centres, pathological laboratories, diagnostic centres, CT Scan centres and X-ray labs be allowed with 100 per cent coverage area in all the colonies to meet the needs of the people.

As for the 24 items listed under mixed land use, he said, the list should be expanded to include finished products shops dealing in stones, wood and other such material, especially in E, F and G category colonies so that people do not have to go long distances for procuring items of daily use. Also, he called for allowing sweet shops, gold and shoe shops under this category.

A demand was also made for allowing commercial activities on roads less than 9 metres wide in resettlement colonies and in all DDA flats that fall on roads where mixed land use would be permitted.

DDA Member and Councillor Virender Kasana said it was also essential not to restrict one dwelling unit to just one trade as on partition brothers often carry out different businesses from the same premises. "Such trades should be treated as similar activity under the same category," he demanded.

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