RWAs unhappy with DDA’s decision on sealing drive

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 4

The Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) in the city are opposing the decision by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to legalise commercial establishments in non-residential areas of the city and expressed concern saying that any such move will turn out to be a “security nightmare”.

They have also welcomed the restoration of the Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee with powers to seal illegal violating constructions and encroachment in the capital and said it is the last hope for residents.

Claiming that Delhi is reeling under an “environmental disaster”, Rajiv Kakria of Greater Kailash-1 RWA, said the civic authorities allowed illegal constructions to come up all these years by sleeping over the mess and kept providing misinformation to the apex court turning Delhi into a complete mess.

“The restoration of Supreme Court monitoring committee should have come early as the arms of governance civic authorities including MCD, DDA and NDMC meant to uphold Supreme Court dignity and rule of law in the capital by stopping mushrooming illegal constructions miserably failed to do so,” Kakria said.

He said everything that ails Delhi today is the result of a “flawed” MPD-2021 while opining that this has resulted in a host of problems that the city faces in the current times, including smog, crime, parking, traffic jams, untreated sewage, water logging, encroachment, overloaded hospitals, lack of school and college seats, etc,.

“The civic authorities have kept on relaxing norms to accommodate more and more construction and commercialisation leaving markets and residential areas in a mess, even potential death traps, as serious violations that can cause loss or damages to life or property go unchecked. The illegal constructions have led to citizens facing problem of encroached footpaths, traffic jams, parking, water, power, drainage, sewage, waste management,” said VK Arora of Delhi Resident’s Forum.

The initial urban planning in the national Capital discouraged mixed zones, where commercial and residential spaces coexist.

“But rules were violated and haphazard commercialisation took place nevertheless by illegally converting residential units into shops, offices, restaurants and showrooms. Upper floors, which were meant to house people, were also used up,” said VN Bali, president of the RWA Federation, east Delhi.

“The political parties instead of politicising and pondering for votes should think for Delhi’s survival as this monitoring committee is the last hope to save Delhi from being plundered by greed,” said Kakria.