AAP MLA and DDA member Shri Somnath Bharti wrote a letter to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi and DDA Chairman, Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena, protesting the latter’s agenda to pass the Master Plan of Delhi (MPD) for 2041 in haste. He reminded the LG of the last Master Plan, which had to undergo over 500 amendments due to a lack of consideration and attention to ground realities.
With the MCD’s Master Plan for 2041 about to be taken up for consideration, the MLA for Malviya Nagar Shri Somnath Bharti wrote to the Lieutenant Governor Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena, protesting the method through which the Master Plan 2041 was added to the agenda to be considered, as well as requesting for a postponement in the meeting to decide on and adopt the Master Plan 2041. Citing a lack of time to read through the bulky document, in order to prepare for the meeting, Shri Bharti raised the issue of the development of unauthorised colonies and requested for a postponement.
Writing to the Lieutenant Governor, Shri Bharti sought to remind the LG that in light of a lack of developments related to the excise policy, it is pertinent to remember that even when the LG takes final decisions regarding policy measures, the eventual responsibility for the same falls upon the shoulders of the elected representatives of Delhi. Not doing so would be an injustice to the people of Delhi. As such, on account of the bulky document that is the Master Plan 2041, Shri Bharti requested the LG to postpone the meeting so that members of the meeting could peruse and consider the document at length and ensure adequate discussion on the agenda.
He reiterated the importance of the master document for the governance of construction and development activities in Delhi and implored the LG to not approve the document in haste. Shri Bharti further sought to remind the LG about the last Master Plan of Delhi ‘Master Plan 2021’ which had to undergo no less than 500 amendments as it too had been passed without due consideration of the document at length and in detail, especially vis-a-vis ground realities.
Shri Bharti further raised questions about the lack of information about the development of unauthorised colonies in underdeveloped areas of Delhi, referring specifically to the situation of demolition that has been carried out in Mehrauli by the DDA. Shri Bharti ended the letter raising the pertinent issue of preventing unauthorised construction and asking about the measures to be taken regarding the same. Shri Bharti wrote, “what steps are being proposed to be undertaken to ensure that no further unauthorised construction/development takes place in Delhi? I would not hesitate in saying that all unauthorised development/ construction in Delhi is solely because of inaction, possibly deliberate and with an intent to give Builder Mafia a free hand in Delhi, on the part of DDA all these years.”
