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From: Architexturez-IN <admin-in@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
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Date: Fri, 02 Nov 2007 10:35:20 +0530
The larger justification is, of course, for better use of the sprawling
lands in the heart of Delhi as the city is facing a severe land crunch.
The plan, going by the euphemism "densification" of LBZ, envisages
cutting back bungalow land — at times going up to 8 acres — to a uniform
1 acre, and using the land released on the basis of new guidelines.
Predictably, the ministry is opposing this welcome proposal. No
politician here likes being cut to size.
Some of these bungalows stand on plots as large as eight acres, a
shameful waste of prime property in a city where finding an affordable
home -- to buy or rent -- is a challenge for ordinary citizens.
Why should an individual, by virtue of his ‘VIP' status alone, hog acres
of land -- that too, in the heart of the city -- when millions of
citizens scrape and save for years to put a decent roof over their
heads? Indeed, this is the case in several state capitals as well, and
the argument to compress ‘special' zones applies to them too.
cont'd....
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Opinion/Editorial/TODAYS_EDITORIAL_Citizens_versus_VIPs/articleshow/2510169.cms