Study green impact of Nauroji Nagar plan, NDMC urged

nNEW DELHI: Prominent environmentalists have written to the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to assess the green impact before sanctioning the building plan for Nauroji Nagar commercial complex.

The project is part of the Union government’s ambitious project to redevelop seven government residential neighbourhoods in south Delhi. As per the plan, a state-of-the-art commercial complex, spread over 25 acres, will come up in Nauroji Nagar. It will have 10-storeyed towers with parking space for 8,000 vehicles. The government plans to develop office space, exhibition halls, banquet halls and food plazas at the proposed complex.

The commercial hub will be linked to the nearby residential government colonies, which are being redeveloped. The project is being executed by NBCC India.

With the Delhi high court vacating the stay on the construction in Nauroji Nagar, NBCC India is in the process of submitting all necessary approvals to the NDMC to get approval.

While the plan is yet to be sanctioned, experts point out that the Nauroji Nagar project can’t be considered a standalone project while giving approval. The letter has been written by environmentalists and civil society members Kanchi Kohli, Bhavreen Kandhari, Manju Menon and Meenakshi

Nath.

In the letter to NDMC chairman Dharmendra, they said, “The various issues that need to be looked into are water availability, use of public streets for traffic, generation and disposal of solid waste, increase in air pollution due to construction activity, loss of over 14,000 trees and increase in health hazards and many other related matters that are important to the well-being of Delhi-ncr…. Nauroji Nagar cannot be considered a standalone construction project in any approval process.”

When contacted, a senior NDMC official said, “There were a few deficiencies in the plan that they (NBCC) had submitted. We have asked them to rectify it.”

NBCC India has been asked to take submit approvals from various government bodies such as the Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning and Engineering) Centre (UTTIPEC) on traffic related matters; the Delhi Urban Art Commission on aesthetic matters, and the requisite approvals from the fire and forest departments.

Kandhari said the Nauroji Nagar project is part of seven general pool residential accommodation projects proposed and the NDMC should assess the impact of all these colonies together before granting approval. “It is necessary to ascertain the total impact to prevent the burden of such impact being passed on to the people,” she said.