This week Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has given its nod to the Master Plan draft for Delhi 2041 as the prevailing master plan ends this year. It is a 487-page document that will oversee numerous issues affecting the city. It focuses on environmental, financial and infrastructural sustainability.
The draft includes two volumes and 22 chapters to encourage a vibrant, liveable, and sustainable national capital by 2041. The first volume has an introduction, giving an assessment of the city in current times, its worldwide and regional placement, projection of populace for 2041. The draft consists of a plan for the city’s development for the next 20 years.
The draft is published on the DDA website. It is there for any objections to it with the recommendations from citizens in 45 days. Considering the economy, population, transportation, community, housing, land purpose and housing services, it has the scope for improvements.
It strengthens rented accommodation by allowing private players and government agencies for additional investment, including a varied migrant population when it comes to the housing sector. The draft is concerned with different issues. It recommends the idea of ‘user pays’, which refers to all personal motor vehicles’ users, apart from the users of non-motorised vehicles, who have to yield for using sanctioned parking facilities, streets and spaces to have refuge spots, shared kitchens as well as quarantine space in emergency situations.
Former chief town planner of DDA, AK Jain, highlighted sustainability as a good indicator. He said, “We never thought about environmental issues like carbon emissions earlier, but these are there in the draft policy this time. The policy also mentions becoming a future-ready city to cater to the needs of the youth. Economic viability is another aspect that the master plan talks about. Nightlife in the city can provide commercial opportunities to various professionals.”
He went on to say that the city’s upcoming population has been estimated recklessly as the document figures out that the national capital will have a population of 29.2 million by 2041 but flagged a concern that the requirement of 34 lakh residential units has been listed in the master plan.
Civil society advocate of urban sustainability and environmental issues Rajiv Suri stated, “The draft policy talks about development even in the green area. This will increase the footprint in areas that should remain untouched. Similarly, agricultural lands will now be available for residential purposes under the land pooling policy. This will urbanise open spaces.”
According to experts, numerous plans are decided on paper only because of a lack of stringent supervision, complexities in policy provisions, and no acceptance of ground realities.
Sabyasachi Das, Former planning commission with DDA, Sabyasachi Das said that for the redevelopment work, people need to be united and come up as many don’t have enormous plots in the planned areas, and it is not a feasible approach. She added, “There are socio-economic issues, property ownership issues, and then there is the fear of displacement while the work is going on. There are multiple concerns due to which redevelopment, even in planned areas, couldn’t happen. The policies have to be flexible.”
While executing Delhi Master Plan 2021, agencies could confront numerous challenges such as facing political wings, corruption in different departments, no political and bureaucratic will, including resources and funds.
