Delhi on way to becoming a big urban slum, say town planners

By Our Correspondent

New Delhi, Sept. 5: For the residents of the capital the proliferating illegal and unauthorised construction is a menace impinging on their public space, but for the MCD they are "money spinners."

If this alleged nexus of the MCD with the builder-politician-police chain facilitating these constructions is not halted in time, Delhi would soon turn into an "urban slum," contend town planners.

"Blame it on the lack of enforcement by the civic authorities or the lack of alternatives available to the people who are forced to make these illegal yet need-based constructions. But, we have to make a distinction between the illegal and unauthorised constructions on the roads and in residential premises," said Prof. K.T. Ravindran, eminent architect and the head of the department of urban design at the School of Planning and Architecture .

"Somehow we need to salvage the public space to make people’s life in the city amiable and joyful. In the absence of a visual culture not factored in the planning system of the civic agencies, the compulsion to abandon Delhi would not remain a far-fetched option for the city dwellers. The illegal constructions on the roads must be stopped with an iron hand. Though here again, we would have to distinguish between the hawkers who cater to the low-end group and the shopping arcades who cater to the higher ends of the society," said Prof. Ravindran.

The planning system of the MCD has not catered to either the poorest or the richest, which can be substantiated from the treatment it has meted out to Yamuna pushta and the Sainik Farm dwellers. The civic agency has been addressing only to the middle or upper-middle or the lower-middle classes. Consequently, a large section of people comprising the poor and the super rich have not been able to bargain in the production process," he said.

"The MCD architects are a determining factor in the building plans being passed, but they have very little role to play as the engineers have overriding powers and are invariably in collusion with the beneficiaries of illegal and unauthorised construction," said a town planner on the condition of anonymity.

Illegal construction on public land has become the mainstay for the MCD authorities concerned in extracting money through contractors in league with the local police, a councillor said, adding that South Delhi offers the maximum scope and money in this regard.

"In Delhi, not more than one to two per cent dwelling units could claim to have adhered to its approved designs and the enforcers of the MCD exploit this fact to their advantage," he added