"Now Delhi can't expand with Haryana on one side and you've got UP on the other side. Where does Delhi expand? What is the kind of urban planning we need," HE said.
"The twelfth plan....Planning Commission passed two weeks ago talks about optimum use of land. How do we have optimum use of land. When I talk of high rise I get a lot of letters that Delhi can't have high rise, Delhi can't have this, Delhi can't have that. Okay, then what do we do? Give me an answer. (But) nobody is ready to give me an answer," the Minister said.
Nath was speaking at an Infrastructure conclave organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce here.
He said that a practical approach had to be chosen on the issue of allowing vertical growth in Delhi.
"But you have all kinds of people who will write letters, write articles that Delhi cannot have high rise... That is desirable, but you have to practice the art of feasible against the art of the desirable," Nath said.
"High rise must be there where we can build infrastructure to support high rise, in selected areas and earmarked areas. Urban planners must earmark areas where high rise is possible and back that up with infrastructure. Once that is backed by infrastructure, we should be looking at high rises in areas specified by urban planning," he said.
Nath said that "idealistic approaches" did not solve the problem and added that in India there was a huge pressure of population and people could not be stopped from moving from one area to another area. (More)
