Absence Of Realistic Planning Is Systematically Destroying The Capital

In 2006 the Supreme Court had set up a monitoring committee to supervise the sealing of shops and commercial establishments operating illegally from residential areas in different parts of the capital. The sealing drive continued until January 2012 when the court asked it not to proceed further as the government had notified the 2021 Master Plan in accordance with which a number of unauthorized colonies had been regularized. Through a law enacted in 2014 the government ensured that no sealing or demolition would happen to illegal constructions in residential and commercial buildings until 31st December 2017. Besides protecting unauthorized constructions, the objective of the extension was to provide an opportunity to government agencies to finalize norms, policy guidelines, feasible strategies and orderly implementation of the plan. Three years have passed but no new guidelines have been notified. With the recent development of a number of unauthorized colonies including an illegal colony that has come up on agricultural land in Mehrauli, and the development of 198 flats in Sai Kunj, much concern is being expressed, in relation to extensive disregard of rules and regulations in various areas across the city. In order to put a stop to this the Supreme Court has revived the monitoring committee to stop the spread of unauthorized construction which is leading to the steady and systematic destruction of the capital city. On the other hand the Cabinet has approved extending the legal immunity for illegal constructions and unauthorized constructions from demolition or sealing till December 2020. A government official has stated 'What is the option left with the government? Can lakhs of houses be demolished? You cannot make lakhs of people homeless'.

Strange though it may seem it is not the growth of unauthorized colonies and illegal construction that is destroying the city - it is the ill advised action of the various government agencies that are really responsible for the steady decline in the quality of life across the Delhi urban area. To begin with, there are multiple government agencies responsible for different areas and multiple agencies responsible for different elements, all of them acting individually without mutual coordination. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) responsible for the effective implementation of the Delhi Master Plan has failed to effectively fulfill this task. There is at present no single agency that is in a position to control future development. Unless and until the whole system is reorganized with a single agency made responsible for the systematic planning of all areas on a coordinated basis, entrusted with enforcement powers, the present system of isolated development across all areas however well intentioned, will lead to the steady decline of conditions across the capital.

The Master Plan for Delhi 1961 sought to define a framework for the growth of the city up to 1981. It laid down a basic road structure along with a comprehensive Land Use plan for the entire urban area. The city was divided into 16 zones centred on major work cum shopping centres (District Centres) around which the various land uses were distributed. Detailed Zonal Plans were to be prepared for each zone by the DDA for development in detail but were not properly done and still remain incomplete. After the expiry of 20 years in 1981 the Master Plan was not updated, and in August 1990 a Master Plan for Delhi 2001 was notified in which no basic changes in land use were made. It was with the notification of the Master Plan for Delhi 2021 in February 2007, that several land use changes were incorporated. Changes which also included the substantial increase of built up area in all residential areas. Most of the changes in land use were made after the fact, recognizing that considerable unauthorized construction had already taken place in response to demand. A large number of unauthorized colonies had already come up in various parts across the Delhi urban area. Large areas of residential development had already been subjected to mixed use, which included local shops, commercial office space, teaching shops, schools and health clinics. The presence of vendors steadily increased, occupying available open space and footpaths. In response to these extensive changes over the last ten years DDA has notified many arbitrary changes without preparing any proper layout plans or urban design studies. Subsequent regularization of unauthorized development at time intervals, is part of an organized system resorted to by the political and government agencies involved. In such situations blaming the residents who initiated these changes is meaningless, the fact remains that although changes meet actual need, they result in large parts of the city being systematically degraded, and this process still continues today.

It is of interest to take a look at the changes that have been taking place in different parts of the city. The most prominent are the growth of unauthorized colonies. In December 2014 Parliament passed a law putting a stay on the demolition of 1200 plus unauthorized colonies. Since then many more such developments have taken place. One needs to recognize that these colonies have developed in response to a need to accommodate the steady growth in population as more and more rural migrants move to the city. These colonies do not come up overnight, they develop over a period of a few years, even though they are often devoid of basic services. The various government agencies responsible could have moved in at the early stages to check this. Why did they not do this? As the colonies get occupied pressure builds up to provide services. Electric and water connections are given, and some years down the line the colonies are regularized. All this points to a clear nexus between the political and administrative agencies involved. Without getting into a discussion on the ethics of the process, it is important to ask why the DDA did not recognize the steady increase in demand for urban space, and actually plan and develop new settlements on an organized basis, on a scale commensurate with the increased number of immigrants.

The few authorized slum resettlement colonies that were built were badly planned with the individual plot sizes being steadily reduced over time. Earlier colonies had plots measuring 80 sq yds which were later reduced to 50 sq yds, and the more recent ones have plots of 25 sq yds. On these small plots the authorized construction was ground and first floor with a barsati above. This was later arbitrarily extended to an FAR of 375. Today all of these plots have a construction of five to six floors of walkup apartments, all built side by side with no side or rear setbacks, poorly built with inadequate ventilation and minimal services. Most of the construction on the upper floors is unauthorized. The bulk of this development has come up over the last 15 years, but no action has been taken to either stop this construction, or to demolish the structures. It is only when a few of these badly constructed buildings without proper foundations actually tilted over in Inderpuri, that a hue and cry was raised, but no action has been taken against the authorities and government agencies responsible for allowing this kind of construction over large parts of the city. This is where the urban poor live in Delhi accommodating 6.75 million of the total population of over 9 million residents. Is it either feasible or possible, to demolish this vast amount of unauthorized development?

Surprisingly the South Delhi Municipal Corporation did recently move in and demolish a five storey building that had developed cracks and tilted dangerously in Jasola, and several residents lost their homes. A bulldozer was brought in to demolish the foundations of the damaged building, and three hours later the building collapsed completely into an open drain, blocking the flow of sewage. This resulted in a backflow and water entered several houses along the drain. This is an area along a 500 metre strip of land between two drains where there are a large number of six storey houses on 300 sq ft plots that had been illegally constructed several years ago. The development provides cheap accommodation for immigrant laborers and has no support facilities of any kind. This is all part of a vast area of unauthorized construction stretching out from behind Jamia Nagar all the way along the river to the Okhla barrage, and can be clearly seen as one goes over the NOIDA toll bridge. One single structure in Jasola has been demolished, and the rest await authorization over time by the government agencies concerned. This is all part of Delhi that one is not expected to either see explore or comment upon, and these areas do not figure in any development plans.

This large concentration of both authorized and unauthorized development for the urban poor in different parts of the city, have no organized provision of community support facilities. There are very few schools, hospitals, open recreational space, or organized shopping centres. All such facilities as are available have developed within the residential complexes on an unauthorized basis. In many resettlement areas, where there are no proper shopping centres one can see a large line of both mobile and static vendors lined up along the outer access roads, supplying vegetables, fruits and other basic commodities.

No long term plan has been prepared to allocate space for the development of adequate low income housing as more migrants move into the city. With the recent change in the definition of affordable dwelling units a number of developers are now in the process of building multistory affordable housing in the peripheral areas of the city close to industrial development areas like Manesar, etc. where residents can buy units of 245 sq ft area for approximately Rs 12.5 lakhs, within reasonable access of employment opportunities. Developers realize that unless such housing is built close to centers of employment they are not likely to find buyers. It is because of poor location and poor construction quality that a large number of DDA built low income housing units, have either been returned or remain unsold. Instead of making provision for the enormous demand for EWS housing, DDA along with NBCC continue to build housing complexes for the middle and upper income group areas wherever there are sizeable pockets of land close to major roads or within metro corridors. This is certainly more profitable than building houses for poor people.

The authorities have also failed to plan for adequate commercial facilities within the Delhi urban area, forcing large numbers of commercial offices to move to areas, like Gurgaon, NOIDA, and Faridabad. Not only have all the District Centres proposed in the Master Plan for Delhi 2021 not been fully implemented, but it has also not been recognized that today the demand for commercial space is far more than what was originally planned for. As a result, all kinds of commercial facilities, particularly smaller units like shops, restaurants, health clinics, banks, etc. have moved into residential areas. Instead of systematically planning concentrations of commercial areas in suitable locations with properly planned access and adequate parking facilities, the authorities have chosen to periodically notify the change of use in pockets in different areas. First some residential areas were designated for mixed use allowing commercial use of ground and basement floors. Then as demand increased, residential units along roads of 18 metres and 9 metre width in different categories of residential development, were allowed to be converted to total commercial use on payment of conversion charges. Although the authorities have collected large amounts in the change of use charges, no provision has been made to improve access, plan for proper parking, and to enhance the level of available utilities. This kind of ad hoc land use change has degraded and destroyed the quality of life in many erstwhile desirable residential areas. It is with this background that the court appointed monitoring committee has embarked on a sealing drive closing down functioning units that have not paid conversion charges, creating wide spread confusion.

Most shopping centres are crowded with parked cars and vendors having taken over every available open space. These are all issues that could be resolved with proper planning and traffic management. But it is not clear who is to do this. The DDA as a city wide planning agency is now defunct, and the municipal authorities are not equipped with the required planning and urban design expertise to address these issues. The problem of proliferating vendors scattered across footpaths and open spaces could easily be resolved with a little application of mind. As per the Street Vendors Act 2014 street vendors are required to be accommodated in designated vending zones with proper space allocation. Town Vending Committees are responsible for surveys to be conducted every five years. To date the authorities concerned have neither created the town vending committees, nor designated the vending zones. Most shopping centres have adequate open space where platforms could be constructed for vendors on an organized basis instead of allowing them to flow across pedestrian footpaths. With the present lack of decisions on the part of concerned authorities, vendors are subject to regular harassment by the police and other officials, leading to the current protest by vendors and their associations across the country.

In addition to the demand for small scale commercial space there is a growing demand for large commercial offices as well. The closer such office structures are to the centre of the city the higher the value. Other than the Connaught Place Extension area the DDA have not planned for additional large commercial centres in prime areas. Demand for office space seems to be growing both for government offices, and for private commercial ventures. There has been talk of the need to create a new secretariat complex where a large number of government offices could be concentrated, but no proper attempt has been made to plan for such a need in a suitable central location. The central government has several thousand acres of land in prime areas, on which low density outdated government houses await redevelopment. With proper planning and detailed urban design it is possible to build a number of large secretariat complexes to accommodate the offices of various government agencies. These could be planned as large mixed use areas, along with substantial housing, shopping centres, community facilities, and landscaped parks. Instead of thinking creatively on a large scale, isolated government offices are being built in scattered isolated locations. Examples include an office block next to the prime residential area of Jor Bagh, an office block on the corner of Tilak Marg opposite Lady Irwin College, and another on the site of the existing barracks opposite Bikaner House on the Hexagon near India Gate, all in locations where they bear no relation in terms of use or character to the existing surroundings. This kind of development will end up destroying the very substance of what makes the national capital unique. Merely by preserving the Lutyens' Bungalow Zone where the politicians and senior civil servants are comfortably settled, by declaring it a heritage area, is not going to save the city from the steady degradation in the quality of life, to which it is currently being subjected.

Government agencies including DDA, NBCC and the CPWD are proceeding at a rapid pace with cutting up large tracts of government owned land into separate pockets building a series of separate gated enclaves. Beginning with the New Netaji Nagar housing for senior government officials built some years ago, this was followed by the development of multistory apartments for civil servants on an 86 acre site in East Kidwai Nagar, and the latest is the proposed development of another similar complex consisting of poorly planned multistory apartments on a 109 acre site as an extension of New Netaji Nagar. All these projects are being implemented by NBCC who have no experienced architects, town planners, or urban designers as part of their staff to guide them to proceed on the basis of proper large scale planning and urban design. There is no attempt at any kind of integration with the existing surroundings. Part of the charm and character of the capital city of Delhi, stems from the fact that it is a historic city, with a large number of buildings and ruins from the past, along with its natural terrain, the ridge, the large areas of parklands, the nallahs and natural drainage channels, and the river. These are elements of the city which are available of access to all its citizens even though little attempt has been made to link them together on a coordinated basis. Imagine what will happen when large sections of such natural features and elements are cordoned off for the benefit of a limited few, and the whole city is converted into a series of isolated gated enclaves. This is definitely going to happen when the proposed NBCC development on the large government housing area extending from Moti Bagh to Defence Colony and New Delhi South Extension, along the Inner and Outer Ring Roads, is implemented and converted to a series of separate developments enclosing parks, monuments and housing within gated walls. The continuity of movement and access through these areas will be completely broken down. It is important that a stop be put to this kind of ill considered large scale construction before the fabric of the city is irretrievably destroyed.

It is important and urgent that the Ministry of Urban Development seriously consider setting up a framework for proper planning and urban design for the future development of the national capital. Preparation and notification of a new Master Plan without providing for systematic long term control of future development would merely be a repetition of a process that has proven to be ineffective over the last fifty years. Without completely dismantling and reorganizing the existing agencies responsible for planning, there will be no real change. There has been much talk about emulating what China has achieved in terms of urban development. It has taken over thirty years to create the updated modern cities with sophisticated infrastructure and substantial amenities for residents. There have also been a number of hits and misses along the way. We are still a long way from achieving anything near that scale and quality of urban environment.