Question

Delhi is developed in an unplanned manner. If you were the commissioner of DDA, how
would you develop the city in a planned manner?

Answer 1

Answer:

Sub: OBJECTIONS / SUGGESTIONS in response to DDA’s Public Notice (no number, no date) re modification to Master Plan to permit specified commercial uses in residential areas (issued in Sunday Hindustan Times, 15.12.02, p.19, text reproduced at Encl.1)

Sir,

I wish to place on record in response to the above-mentioned my objections as a planner on grounds of (1) defects in content and timing of Notice, (2) conditions (for commercial use of residential premises) being ‘liberalized’ to unacceptable degree, and (3) proposed modification having no basis in planning rationale. These are detailed out herewith.

1. OBJECTIONS IN RESPECT OF THE PUBLIC NOTICE ITSELF

The purpose of issuing a Public Notice in respect of Plan modifications is to permit public scrutiny and informed public comment so that all aspects relating to the proposed modification can be carefully considered in greatest public interest before deciding about it. Public Notice is not a ‘formality’ that has to somehow be completed so that DDA / MoUD can go ahead with whatever they have pre-decided. The manner in which DDA’s Public Notices are publicized (or, rather, not publicized) leaves much to be desired. More importantly, no attempt is made to inform the public about the implications / pros and cons of the modifications on which public comment is invited, which also makes DDA’s Public Notices rather meaningless. In this particular case, however, my objections go beyond these serious but general reservations and relate to shocking defects in the content of the Notice and its timing amounting to frustrating processes of law.