Annexure P/5 (Colly)

LAND USE PROPOSALS SINCE MPD-2001

• The 315 Ha site of Vasant Kunj Phase-2, in area earmarked for mining in MPD-1962 has deep ditches, etc, requiring much of it to be left green (recreation / district park).
• In MPD-2001 the scheme was residential (col.1), with 112 Ha housing (76 Ha general and 36 Ha foreign missions), and 25 Ha institutional in two pockets – north of VK and strip along Nelson Mandela road, latter with a commercial site.
• In the scheme approved by DUAC (col.2), general residential was reduced to 22 Ha and foreign missions increased to 84 Ha. Green was reduced to increase commercial.
• Draft F-Zone Plan (col.3) restored green and general housing, removing foreign missions.
• The idea of International Hotels’ complex led to a proposal (col.4) that reduced MPD-2001 green by 15% to 147 Ha and residential by 56% to 49 Ha to make the scheme mainly commercial (hotels and other) and institutional.
• Approved F-zone Plan (1998) reduced residential use further (col.5).

(TABLE - Source: DDA, 1997 [Table on p.32 of SPA Workshop))

With hotels’ project scrapped, the Mall is no more embedded in a Zonal Plan scheme. Tender advertisement indicates as site entire strip marked institutional in MPD-2001 and refers to bio-diversity park of 650 acres (260 Ha) in excess of Zonal Plan provision for recreational / District Park. The issue of excessive up-market commerce in the area being unsustainable is sub-judice in WP 6980/2002 and borne out by DDA having to lately resort to cutting prices to dispose off such space and from reservations of CGWA in the following news report.

HT SOUTH DELHI REPORT OF 27.11.03

DDA at it once again in Vasant Kunj

Manan Kumar

DDA’s entry into the business of shopping malls by throwing open a big chunk of land on Nelson Mandela Marg for auction has come as a rude shock to planners and aware residents of Vasant Kunj. Spread over 47 acres with a built up capacity of two million square feet, the shopping mall will be built on the sensitive bio-diversity area of south-western ridge falling between JNU, Vasant Vihar, Vasant Kunj and Mahipalpur. The DDA was earlier stopped by the Supreme Court from building 14 five star hotels here in 1997. However, the Court had left 92 hectares free for development.

“In 1997, the DDA had misled the court, claiming that the ridge was two kilometres away from the proposed hotels site,” says Anil Sood of NGO Chetna. “Earlier, in August 1992, the DDA had conceded that the area came under the ridge when it asked the Irrigation and flood Control Department to realign the storm water pipe for sector C, Vasant Kunj along Nelson Mandela Road as otherwise it would pass through the ridge. DDA cannot escape from taking permission from the Environmental Pollution Control Authority, a body set up by Supreme Court,” adds Sood.

However, DDA chief architect S C Karnwal says that the area was already identified in the zonal plan of zone F and the plan for a shopping mall that has been finalised now is legal. Urban Planner Gita Dewan Verma contests this. “No commercial construction can be permitted there according to Master Plan norms. At the most, the DDA can have small convenient shopping centres. One would also like to know whether the DDA has brought out any public notice for the change of land use. And what about the backlog of building low-income housing flats, shops and kiosks which the DDA has admitted before the High Court?” she asks.

How will DDA construct a mall without water? A DDA source says the agency has not yet made provision for water either for construction or potable water. Member Secretary, Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA), Dr Saleem Roamani says there is no question of giving permission to DDA for digging tube wells. “We allow digging of tube wells only for drinking water in south west Delhi. We are strict even for DJB. How can we allow drawing of water for a commercial place?” says Dr Roamani. DJB also rules out the possibility of supplying water to the mall. “We are short by 1.2 MGD for VK. We can’t give more water,” says a source.