Request for reply to s.11A response (27/03/05)

Mr A K Jain, Commissioner (Planning), DDA

Sub: s.11A Public Notice No. K-13011/5/2000-DIB of 04.11.2004

Ref: My letter of 18/03/2005 (enclosed) and subsequent media reports

Dear Mr Jain,

As you would be aware Delhi Finance Minister’s budget speech mentions, under the heading Industries, IT Park at Shastri Park, self employment schemes, Bawana, Bhorgad and a new estate being “planned” for gems and jewellery. What Delhi Industries Minister told our Assembly – "while a survey of industrial units had been done, that had not classified the industries into polluting or non-polluting. In all... 20,588 units had been inspected and of them power and electricity supply of 2,742 had been disconnected while 488 had been sealed. ...over 800 units had been desealed", etc – was reported on 22/03/2005 (“MLAs corner their own Ministers”, The Hindu) and partly on 26/03/2005 (“Polluting units: Govt crackdown lacks bite”, Times of India).

Obviously, Delhi Government is again obfuscating polluting and non-conforming units, industrial and commercial (IT Park) use, and numbers, besides blowing hot and cold about its jurisdiction and responsibilities – on 19/03/2005 it was reported that in the matter of commercial misuse of industrial estates (to extent of 70 to 80 per cent in some cases), Delhi Government typically “tried to shift the blame to the Centre, as its counsel said that the NCT administration was helpless as it had no power over the police to enforce the law and the the DDA, the main agency controlling the land, was also under the Union Government” (“Centre, Delhi Govt. rapped over wrong use of industrial areas”, The Hindu), even as there was no “helplessness” about GNCTD’s industrial closure.

It is noteworthy that, as per the report of 19/03/2005, apropos commercialisation of industrial space, Supreme Court observed:

• “If you shut your eyes to this fact, then what is the purpose of earmarking an area for establishing the industries? On the other hand, industrial activities are being carried out in residential areas”.

It is now four years since I have pointed out the related larger obvious fact, viz, that the solution to the industries imbroglio cannot be found without releasing the 2000-3000 hectares of industrial space earmarked in well-dispersed locations in DMP-2001 and all else is diversionary obfuscation to unlawfully spare that space for misuse, with deleterious implications for city economy and, with the amount of misleading of public and courts that this has involved, also for governance.

Now the circle of misleading the courts appears to have closed – on 26/03/2005 has been reported Delhi Government’s approval for constitution, as per direction of Supreme Court Monitoring Committee, of Local Area Environment Committee to look into the hazardous waste problem in the city (“Environment panel finally gets Government's nod”, The Hindu). The 5-member Committee includes Mr Dunu Roy, who along with Mr KT Ravindran, was extensively quoted also in a December 2004 web article by Rakesh Kalshian, journalist who contributes also to Down To Earth. You would recall that Mr Roy, Mr Ravindran and Down To Earth led from the front the anti-Master-Plan media on the industries issue in 2000. Mr Ravindran and Ms Sunita Narain of DTE are also named in the list of members in DMP-2021.

While Delhi Government and like-minded empowered-experts prefer not to make any reference to Public Notices arising from the Supreme Court order for industries or for the DMP-2021 that they have considerably influenced, the facts do remain that (a) the issue of non-conforming industries is a land-use (and, thereby, city economy) issue (though the composition of the sub-group for industries for DMP-2021 does not reflect this), (b) the Public Notice process is a statutory process, and (c) constitutional responsibility for land use decisions and sanctity of Public Notice process vests in DDA. I reiterate my request for detailed reply to my s.11A responses to Public Notices in the industries matter.

Yours sincerely

Gita Dewan Verma, Planner