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L-G calls for major changes in urban planning
SHIVANI SINGH, TIMES NEWS NETWORK [ THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2002 11:50:48
PM ]
NEW DELHI: As existing models of urban development go out of sync with
Delhi?s growing needs, Lt-governor Vijai Kapoor has called for major
alterations in the city?s future urban planning.
Speaking to The Times of India, Kapoor said Delhi?s new master plan, which
would be the basis of urban planning in Delhi till 2021, would focus on
land-pooling, redevelopment of areas which came up in the early stages of
urban expansion, intensive development along the Metro rail routes and
increasing the green expanse of Delhi.
Kapoor said the new master plan would not only be the guide to all future
urban planning in Delhi, but become the basis for restructuring the city?s
key land-owning agencies like the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).
Land pooling: ??Land pooling, if implemented, would change the character
of DDA. The land authority would have to coordinate with the private
sector to develop new areas. The new housing and commercial units that
come up will be of better quality,?? Kapoor said.
Development on Metro routes: Kapoor said the major emphasis of the new
master plan would be to develop areas on the new Metro routes. ??Areas
along the metro lines should be extensively developed. Floor area ratio
(FAR) for buildings coming up in these areas should be one-and-a-half or
two times more than what is normally allowed,?? he said.
Redeveloping existing areas: ??Urban development that took place in the
first shot of planning was substandard. We will try to modify the areas
which came up then and make them conducive to the future needs of Delhi,??
Kapoor said.
The final draft of master plan 2021 is already in place. Kapoor said as
soon as a political consensus emerges, the document would be put in force.
Allow change in land-use: Reacting to the Union urban development
ministry?s recent proposal to allow commercial and residential use of
industrial land and vice-versa, Kapoor said the move was desirable only if
it was implemented in the descending order.
He said: ??A factory owner whose industrial activities have expanded over
the years, should be allowed to move from conventional industrial areas to
places where there is more space. He should be allowed to use his
industrial plot to set up an office or residence. This would encourage the
concept of split location, much needed in a growing city.??
Kapoor, however, expressed reservations on allowing commercial or
industrial activities in residential areas. ??This would create havoc and
throw all planning to the winds,?? he said.
According to the LG, the government?s land-owning agencies should allow
change of land-use from industrial to commercial and residential, only
after plot owners pay the price differential. He admitted that money
differential could not be pegged at current commercial rates and was
therefore a ?sticky issue?.
??Price of land is location specific, and more so in case of commercial
land. We can, however, work out a common rate by taking the average of all
land auctions undertaken in the city in the last one year,?? he said.