Development Work In Delhi With the dawn of Independence, India found itself faced with new challenges and new tasks. Millions of refugees left their hearths and homes in Pakistan to settle down in India. A million of them came to Delhi. The population doubled in a few years; the city sprawled. The problems of inadequacy of community facilities, residential accommodation, shopping, offices, industrial space, road system, water supply and electricity came into sharp focus. The idea of a long term programme to plan the city and build up a socially healthy and economically sound urban community was conceived. It was against this back ground that Government set up in 1957, the Delhi Development Authority and charged it with the task of preparing a plan for the development of Delhi to meet its present and future requirements, as far as could be envisaged. A town planning organisation was also set up simultaneously to advise the Authority in all matters relating to the orderly planning of the national capital. A year later, Parliament authorised the Delhi Development Authority to draw up a Master Plan for the planned development of Delhi. The Master Plan, which was approved by the Union Government in 1962, was the first attempt of its kind in India to plan urban development in the broader perspective of the long term socio-economic needs of a growing population. The Delhi Development Authority comprises 13 members with the Administrator of Delhi as its Chairman. It has 3 permanent members, who function as ViceChairman, the Engineering-Member and Finance Member. Other interests represented are the Ministry of Works, Housing & Urban Development, TCPO, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, New Delhi Municipal Committee and Delhi Metropolitan Coun⚫ cil. Besides the task of preparing the plan and its execution in respect of development By H. N. Fotedar, SECRETARY, D. D. A. areas and administration of Nazul land, D.D.A. is also required to oversee the functions of other local agencies to ensure that they function within the ambit of the Master Plan. The Master Plan prepared by the D.D.A. was approved by the Government of India on 1st September, 1962. The plan envisages an urban area of 1,10,000 acres in 1981. The existing urban area is about 43,000 acres. Thus the present area is proposed to be extended by about 67,000 acres. This has been subdivided into various land uses; 30,000 acres for residential, 4,50,00 for industrial, 200 for commercial, 500 for Government offices, 2000 for University Colleges, social and cultural institution and 28,000 for district parks, regional parks, public utilities, services including radio transmission station, etc. A mile broad "green belt" has been earmarked around the urban area. zones. The urbanisable area has been divided into eight self-contained planning divisions, sub-divided further into 136 development Each planning division will be completed in all community facilities. Certain space standards in respect of density, coverage, floor area ratio, set-back, etc. have also been laid down. The D.D.A. has so far developed about 20,000 residential, about 4500 indus trial and over 5000 commercial plots. It has already constructed 6000 built-up flats/tenements. As many as 7000 flats were nearing completion. In all about 2000 residential plots were developed during last year. About 1320 industrial plots were developed in new schemes. To eliminate traffic hazards, inherent in the movement of heavy vehicles in the city and to eliminate the existing slum condi tions, a new wholesale Subzimandi, at a cost of about Rs. 70 lakhs, has been deve loped at Azadpur, a big cycle market is being constructed at Jhandewala, at a cost of about Rs. 12 crores. New and modern shopping centres are being developed in Kalkaji and Pusa Road. Two major truck terminals have been developed to provide parking space for heavy vehicles and also prevent them from occupying limited space in the heart of the city. A new Inter-State Bus Terminus is under construction, at an estimated cost of over Rs. 1 crore. In addition to the loans arranged from the Life Insurance Corporation, the D D.A. ushered a scheme called 'registration of house buyers' with the main aim of augmenting their financial resources which are so much needed for undertaking a gigantic housing programme for the high, middle, low and very low income groups. The D.D.A. has developed as many as 14 J. J. Colonies in different parts of Delhi to rehabilitate the squatters. So far about 50,000 families have been resettled. During the current year, it developed 5000 plots and allotted about 900 tenements to th_squatters. This year, out of the lottery funds 12 dispensaries were opened in the J. J. Colonies. Five community centres have been set up in Nangloi, Seemapuri, Hastsal, Madangir and Madipur. Shopping facilities in J. J. colonies have also been provided. Shop plots of 121⁄2 sq. yds. have been allotted to squatters who owned shops before being evicted. Sinking of tube-wells in the J J. colonies was also undertaken by the D.D.A. with a view to providing sufficient quantity of water where Municipal supplies were not available. New parks have been laid in 18 different sites. Woodlands have been developed covering more than 1,500 acres of barren land and 4 lakh tree saplings were planted on road sides and other green areas of Delhi. अभी नहीं इसलिये याद रक्खें अतएव तीन के बाद कभी नहीं मुफ्त सलाह एवं सेवा हेतु परिवार नियोजन केन्द्र में पधारें । राज्य परिवार नियोजन ब्यूरो, उत्तर प्रदेश द्वारा प्रसारित । DELHI MASTER The Master Plan for Delhi envisages an increase in the urban area of the capital 2 times in the next 10 years. The administrative report of the Delhi Development Authority for 1969-70, presented to the Lok Sabha on July 21 says the existing urban area of the capital comprising 43,000 acres will be enlarged to 1,10,000 acres by 1981. The Connaught Place complex is to be enlarged to a total area of 200 acres. Twenty-two sites for colleges have been marked for Delhi University near the junction of Ring Road and Sardar Patel Road. An area of about 600 acres, lying to the south-west of the Indian Institute of Technology, has been earmarked for a new university. Twenty new 500-bed hospitals are to be built and sites of about 15 acres each have been reserved for them. Four additional road bridges over the Jamuna and two more major road links between Old Delhi and New Delhi have been recommended. A site at Pasaunda, near Ghaziabad has been earmarked for an alternative airport. New railway stations have been proposed and provisions made for extending the existing ones. A 40-acre area has been proposed in South Delhi for an All-India cultural .centre. Delhi: A Massive Slum "Delhi shall remain a slum forever". The cryptic, if somewhat unnervingly pithy, statement forms the opening sentence of a study conducted jointly by Mr. N. Chakravarty, a former Special Engineer, Slums and Housing, Delhi Corporation, and Mr. Om Mathur, chartered town planner and landscape architect. It was to be discussed at the National Seminar on Housing and Slums in New Delhi on July 31. The only way this can be averted, says the study, is by adopting an 11-point plan. PLAN The plan entails the concept of individual house ownership and plotted housing being replaced by group housing and corporate and Government ownership of all housing on rental basis. It suggests that Delhi should be made more and more "unattractive"; individual property and house ownership be made impossible so that "fiscal" measures will force industrialists to go out of Delhi to attractive growth towns and to check migration to big cities, growth towns should be developed. crumbling old edifice-which cannot be got The study describes the Old City as "a vacated." Overcrowding, degeneration and filth stand out. Streets are becoming narrower due to encroachments. The city built for the "palki" and the horse carriage is utterly unfit for motor-car age. At another point the study says "Rs. 10 crores has been spent by the Government between 1963 and 1971 on moving 50,000 families of squatters and rehabilitating them in 18 Jhuggi Jhonpri colonies. But the number of squatters has been increased to 200,000 There seems to be no end to the problem". The study has also made a point of the fact that senior Government officials are given easy subsidies for housing and they are thus instrumental in raising house rents "A Lt-Colonel hires a four room flat for Rs. 800 per month; in Naraina and other colonies near the Cantonment where a large number of army officers have acquired accommodation rents have gone up and the ordinary man has to go to a cheaper colony which means slums". Gujarat's Roads In By M. D. Patel, CHIEF ENGINEER ( R. & B.) Gujarat State had the target of 39147 K. Ms. under the Nagpur Plan (1941-61). However, at the end of Nagpur Plan in Very little attention was being paid to Nagpur Plan highway routes in ancient Gujarat. those days, routes were predominantly for migration and movement of armies for conquests, the main transport equipment being animal drawn vehicles, since villages were self-sufficient units. The roads then were mostly tracks with road side arboriculture, drinking water wells or stepped wells and resting places on arterial routes. During the time of the Moghuls there was a slight improvement in the communications system and important roads were constructed with macadamized "Kankar". In Pre-Independence Period While trade, commerce and general travel developed in phenomenal propor tions, the road system in Gujarat did not keep up with the requirements of travel and transport for a long time. It was only since the last two decades that development of highway system in the State began to make headway. There was no definite pattern of road planning and well co-ordinated road deve lopment plan in Gujarat prior to Independence. Gujarat State covers an area of 187091 square K. Ms. out of which a major Portion was under a large number of small Native States in the Pre-Independence period. This was not conducive to planning an integrated road system and resulted in the absence of through roads in the region. At the time of Independence, Gujarat had a token mileage of 7622 K. Ms. of Sub-standard roads against the Nagpur Plan target of 39147 K. Ms. by 1961. This worked out to 3.89 per 100 square K. Ms. against a corresponding all India average of 11.50 K. Ms. per 100 square K. Ms. existing at the time of Independence. THE AUTHOR 1961, the State achieved a K. Ms. of 22629 K. Ms. and the "20 Year Plan" (1961-81) was embarked upon with a deficit of a little more than 16500 K. Ms. The various categories of roads completed during the Nagpur Plan period and upto 1970 are given in Table 1. Thus at the end of Nagpur Plan there was deficit to the extent of 42% while India as a whole exceeded the targets by 38%. This deficit is principally attributed to the following factors: (i) Very low mileage at the commencement of the Nagpur Plan. Besides, the roads that existed were of an inferior type as compared to those in other parts of India. (ii) The materials for construction have to be brought from long distances |