Farmers Movement Archive

DDA giving final touches to policy for green area development

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is in the process of finalising the Green Development Area policy to pave the way for planned development in the city’s green belt, said senior officials.The policy, which was placed in public domain recently, will be tabled in the upcoming authority meeting, officials added.“We held a public meeting earlier this year and are in the process of finalising it. Once approved in the DDA meeting, it will be sent to the Union housing and urban affairs ministry for notification,” said a senior DDA official.The policy, DDA officials said, will regulate development in green belt villages located on the city’s periphery. Currently, no new construction, either residential or commercial, is allowed in the 47 rural villages located on the city’s periphery, such as Dhansa, Mitraon, Tikri Kalan, Kapashera, parts of Rajokri, Ghumanhera, Bamnoli and Bijwasan.The policy allows educational institutions, medical facilities, agricultural activities, big parks, sports facilities and non-polluting industries, among others, to come up in the peripheral villages. A total of 70 villages in the urban extensions of the national capital will benefit from the policy once it is approved.The policy allows for construction in three grades, based on the size of the plot. The minimum land required, a senior official said, will be 600 sqm, where permitted development works will be limited to agricultural, horticultural and solar fields, among others.Farmhouses, open markets and sports facilities etc will be allowed on a minimum plot size of 4,000 sqm while educational institutions, non-polluting industries etc can come up on plots of size 10,000 sqm and above.Residents of these villages have been demanding permission to construct their houses and also give their land for commercial activities. Residents claim that due to restrictions on construction, the villages are devoid of essential infrastructure like education institutions and medical facilities, among others, and also left without much source of income.Bhupinder Bazad, president of master plan committee of Delhi Dehat Vikas Manch, an association of villagers, said, “With increase in population, residents need space to construct new houses and also look for opportunities to earn their livelihood. While we need to protect the green lungs of the city, we also have to provide avenues for villagers to earn their livelihood.”

Hindustan Times

07-09-2021

Delhi