Supreme Court lifts stay on amendments in Master Plan
RELIEF The proposed amendments, including a uniform FAR, is expected to provide protection against sealing drive There is no water, so people cannot drink water. There is pollution, so people cannot breath and there is garbage.
Where is the city going?
NEWDELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Centre to go ahead with the proposed amendments in Delhi’s Master Plan 2021, which grants protection to traders in the city against the ongoing sealing drive and increases the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for both residential and commercial properties, enabling regularisation of unauthorised construction.
Vacating its earlier orders that barred the Centre from amending the Master Plan, a bench of Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta said, “We are modifying our orders on amendments to the master plan and the Centre is allowed to invite objections and suggestions to the proposed amendments from the public.”
The court also directed that the Centre shall publish the proposed amendments in the Delhi Master Plan 2021 in newspapers and media in English and Hindi, seeking objections from the people. Delhi residents will be given 15 days for filing their objections against the proposed amendments.
The order vacating the stay came after the Attorney General of India KK Venugopal submitted that the court should avoid restraining the government from making policies. “The question of examining the policy arises only after it is enforced, “argued Venugopal.
He referred to the issue of migration to Delhi and said there was a tremendous overflow of population in the national Capital and human life was involved in the matter. “These are matters which should be left to the executive. It is their jurisdiction. Please lift the embargo,” he said.
APP TO STOP ILLEGAL CONSTRUCTION
The Centre also submitted to the court an action plan for preventing unauthorised construction in the national Capital.
Under the action plan, the Centre has proposed a mobile appli- cation along with an interactive website, which will facilitate the people to register their complaints and upload pictures or alleged illegal construction in their vicinity.
The court directed that this mobile application should be made functional within 15 days.
The Centre also suggested that it shall be the responsibility of civic officers to check all future construction activities in their areas and, in case they fail in their duties they could be prosecuted under the IPC.
Posting the matter for further hearing on May 17 , the court sought Centre’s response on immediate suspension of civic officers who were suspected to have aided illegal constructions in the city. The bench also directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to advertise in leading dailies on three consecutive days the action plan placed before it for monitoring of all construction activities and fixing responsibility in cases of violation of MPD and the building by-laws.
A special task force constituted by the Centre launched the latest round of the anti-encroachment drive on April 28, with an aim to decongest the busy stretches by removing illegal constructions and vehicles parked illegally on roadsides. Till Monday, over 1,400 vehicles have been impounded and at least 1,000 structures have been demolished.