The path of bulldozers tells a growth story

EDIFICE OF ILLEGALITY

In another developmental paradigm, the urban mass now being destroyed by MCD bulldozers would not be considered illegal, only the outgrowth of a vibrant economy.

According to urban planner and former member of the Delhi Urban Arts Commission (DUAC) K T Ravindran, even a cursory glance at the areas where a large number of illegal constructions has been reported would confirm this view.

"It is a multiple failure of enforcement of rules, of the Master Plan to anticipate the rate of growth of the city, and to respond to a buoyant financial market for housing," he said.

"All this has led to saturated growth in already existing residential areas and a decline in residential quality, which is the main reason for the spate of litigation in court," he says.

"Many roads that were conceived as neighbourhood roads have become arterial roads, due to the shift in the status of areas originally conceived as small commercial areas. These include South Extension, Greater Kailash, Defence Colony, and Kotla Mubarakpur, which have bourgeoned into big markets for specialised products like Kotla is now famous for building material," he said.

The government's attempts to develop business centres like Nehru Place and Bhikaji Cama Place were too few and far between.

More illegal extension in residential areas have come up in colonies referred to as refugee colonies like Lajpat Nagar and Model Town.

"The original plots given to refugees of 1947 were small; as their families grew, bigger floors were added and extensions made. It is typical of patrilineal families in north India," said Ravindran.

Real estate developers insist the growing economy of the post-liberalisation phase brought in an unexpected situation for planners.

"People in the DDA were sitting on prime land and not building houses; and with lower interest rates on housing finance, the situation was ripe for a kill in the market by private builders and speculators," said a real estate developer.

As Ravindran puts it: "On the one hand, you have a highly controlled delivery of land, and, on the other hand, there is a buoyant financial market."

"This bring into focus the fact that a 20-year plan is just not good enough for a city growing at the pace of Delhi; it has to be responsive," he said.

He adds political parties have to be involved in it since planning and policy are a political activity. "Just look at the way sugar politics affects Maharashtra and the way cement politics affects Tamil Nadu," he said.