Indian Building Congress Awards, June 2004

A news item on (only) one newkerala.com announced in first week of June 2004) that President of India is to honour architects of three complexes that Indian Builders Congress selected out of all the buildings constructed in the country last year for its annual awards for excellence, instituted to encourage new talent and innovativeness among architects. Two of the three (Delhi Government Secretariat and Garden of Five Senses) involve illegalities in terms of planning law and the third raises at least questions about professional ethics.

India News > President to honour three architects — by admin — last modified 2005-12-07 01:51

The IANS News Report [07.06.2004]

Letter to President of India — by admin — last modified 2004-11-04 09:16

I regret that your office was misled into unnecessary involvement and apologize for failure of architecture / planning professions to prevent such a situation from arising... [11.06.2004]

Letter to Secretary, MoUD — by admin — last modified 2004-11-04 09:17

‘The system’ seems to have collapsed to a point where our President can be ‘used’ to ‘endorse’ the very type of initiatives against which representations are pending appropriate action upon his direction. I believe this calls for said appropriate action with urgency... [11.06.2004]

Letter to CoA President — by admin — last modified 2004-11-04 09:18

I request the Council of Architecture to investigate these awards and... also to clarify if practice of architecture in disregard of planning law invites disciplinary action by the Council... [11.06.2004]

Prof E F N Ribiero's response — by admin — last modified 2004-11-04 11:08

(in form of letter to Secretary MoUD, posted after letter to CoA) "...Regarding, her views on the award for 'The Players building retrofitting' and 'The Garden of Five Senses'... for some credibility she should have accessed the citation of those awards prior to her ‘statements’ ... I am unclear on the nature of land use violation which Ms.Verma perceives ... In any event, I do not know much about these projects of NCTD... [24.08.2004]

Comment on draft National Environment Policy — by admin — last modified 2005-12-07 01:59

...illegalities on Delhi ridge and riverbed (“incomparable entity” ...) – continuing ...amidst NEP discourse ... GNCT (ENVIS Node)... closing non-conforming industries from its non-conforming Secretariat on riverbed, with irrelevant references to environment... [26.10.2004]

Reply to Prof Ribeiro's response — by admin — last modified 2004-11-04 11:29

My letter to Secretary MoUD (IBC Patron)... made no reference to you ...You have neither said the projects are legal nor quite countered my contention that they are not... your response defending the IBC Award without taking a position about, indeed by obfuscating... Delhi Master Plan violations... [27.08.2004]

Letter to Commissioner (Planning), enclosed in letter to PM — by admin — last modified 2005-12-07 01:57

Now that GNCT interpretation of conformity with DMP2001 is to be applied to one lakh industries, the matter of GNCT Secretariat’s own conformity with DMP2001 ...must be settled first... we are failing to inform people’s representatives about the existence and adequacy of the statutory DMP2001 solution... [15.09.2004]

Response to s.11A Public Notice to regularize GNCT-DMRC IT Park on riverbed — by admin — last modified 2005-12-07 01:55

...unmindful of Presidential instructions for appropriate action on: ...Communication about award by Indian Building Congress (of which Secretary MoUD is patron, DDA Commissioner Planning a Vice President, etc) ...inclusive of request for compliance of court order of 2002 for inquiry into DMP violating project and for assessment of compliance of order of 2003 for riverbed encroachments... [15.10.2004]

Comment by Poonam Prakash, Planner — by admin — last modified 2004-11-04 11:21

(Posted after Prof Ribiero's response): Both these projects ...remain ad-hoc projects since zonal plans for these zones have not been approved ...Delhi-1999 A Fact Sheet published by the NCRPB...: "It is absolutely important that the practice of piecemeal and ad-hoc decisions should come to an end. ...It may be pointed out that almost all such schemes outside the approved plans are infact illegal". (P.74)... [26.09.2004]

Newspaper article on industries by Convener of CoA Committee on Practice of Architecture — by admin — last modified 2004-11-06 02:37

...these are not industries. There are no Bajajs, Hondas, Tatas, Birlas, Bhartis or HLLs operating here. These are some small-scale units which have been helped by our petty politicians to set up shop next door and pollute... Is there any shortage of legal industrial estates? No, we have plenty around the Capital. Rajasthan has Bhiwadi, Bhawal, Alwar. And Haryana has a string... [28.10.2004]

Delhi Government's unlawful sealing of non-conforming industries — by admin — last modified 2004-11-04 12:16

Mr Maken... has raised one very pertinent point, viz, that sealing was not required by court order... sealing already done, with trauma and deaths in apprehension of it ...Delhi Government has no powers to identify or penalise misuse... itself functioning from a non-conforming Secretariat... [29.10.2004]

Article on regularisation (invited by a newspaper) — by admin — last modified 2005-12-07 01:57

...The question is if this Great Terrain Robbery by the state might be regularised... Unplanned projects sanctified by such corporate consortia awards include also Delhi Secretariat... from this Plan-violation, Delhi government had just watched, claiming helplessness, war-like eviction of Plan-violating slums below and has been directing since, without jurisdiction, action against Plan-violating industries... [sent 04.11.2004]

Garden of 5 senses to feature in St Etienne Biennale — by admin — last modified 2005-12-07 01:57

...paid a visit by officials from the city of Saint Etienne earlier this year during their travel around the world to select ... 'unusual innovations and cultural identities that bring the colour of diversity and originality back to the world being greyed out by globalisation strategies.' ...is one of the largest commissions of public art in India [HT, 04.11.2004]

Newspaper Op-Ed (Pioneer Thinkpad) articles about regularisation — by admin — last modified 2005-12-07 01:54

including, next to one referring to Plan-violating Delhi Secretariat, one by Delhi Urban Development Minister, saying, "...to be a leading global city... need for total revamp of the city's building by-laws as the root of the problem is the inadequacy of existing laws... public views the present set of laws as totally unfair or irrelevant ...need to prepare "Area Specific Urban Designs" ...guidelines for Master Plan 2021 envisage several changes... the new rules to be followed" [06.11.2004]