From mpisgplanner at yahoo.com Sat Mar 27 08:41:49 2004 From: mpisgplanner at yahoo.com (Gita Dewan Verma) Date: Sat Dec 4 15:38:54 2004 Subject: ridge and river schemes Message-ID: A suggestion for the safdarjung airport site was to use it for 'world class' development seeking CGWA notified ridge and river (prime) locations. The suggestion has become infructuous. The riverbed is abuzz. 75000 families are being illegally dispossesed to make way for illegal schemes with unaffordable consequences (in the name of, besides court and EC, environment - all on untenable and dubious premises). Vasant Kunj shopping mall and so-called biodiversity - illegality of which has been admitted in open court in High Court and on affidavit in Supreme Court - has been auctioned (mall, for much celebrated 1100 crores) and founded (by no less than five political heavy weights). The pseudo environmentalist PIL in Supreme Court was designed to and has lost. The High Court matter, based on Master Plan and Delhi Development Act, survives. Respondents tried to have it dismissed on grounds of Supreme Court having dismissed the environmentalists' matter. But it has survived - for now. Sultangarhi project in green belt has been approved by MoUD - without the court ordered inquiry, without report of hearing of 1700 objections, without response to vigilance inquiry sought into construction that continued after the court ordered it stopped, without report of (unrelated to court case) vigilance into tender scamming. The authorities are unwilling / unable to stop the scamming. The environmentalists are resisting in ways that help scamming. The professionals are party to the scamming as project designers. What-a-mess.