Five markets picked for overhaul; to help boost business, create jobs
Alok KN Mishra
NEW DELHI: In a significant policy decision to refurbish Delhi’s markets and boost the city’s economy, the Delhi government on Monday announced that it will revamp five of the most popular markets of the city — Lajpat Nagar, Kamla Nagar, Sarojini Nagar, Khari Baoli and Kirti Nagar — to provide world-class facilities and amenities to shoppers, and address the problems that plagues them.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced the names of the markets in a digital briefing on Monday evening.
“Kamla Nagar has been identified as a youth hangout zone. Khari Baoli has been identified as a legacy market from the Mughal times with the best spices to offer. Lajpat Nagar has been identified as a high-end street fashion and one-stop destination for wedding shopping. Sarojini Nagar has been identified as a fast-fashion market with latest trends while Kirti Nagar has been identified as a one-stop destination for furniture and household items,” Kejriwal said.
Announcing the redevelopment plan for the five markets, Kejriwal said more markets will be taken up for redevelopment in the next phase of the plan.
The revamp is basically a part of the Delhi government’s larger plan to create two million jobs in the city in the next five years, as envisioned in its budget for the current financial year.
Redeveloping markets and holding shopping festivals was one of the components of the plan to boost the Capital’s economy and create jobs.
Kejriwal said the Delhi government will hold a design competition and invite ideas from architects as well as general public for the redevelopment. The schedule for the competition is likely to be announced in a couple of weeks. “The government wants to appoint top notch architectural teams within 12 weeks, which will begin their work on redeveloping these five iconic markets to their fullest potential,” the chief minister said.
“I believe that these markets which are the pride of Delhi will become a centre of attraction for the whole world. The biggest boon of this redevelopment would be a sharp increase in employment opportunities. This will help alleviate the problem of unemployment in India,” Kejriwal said.
A senior government official said the markets were chosen after consultations with traders’ association. The government had invited proposals from all markets and it received 49 applications from 33 markets, the official said. He added that an eightmember selection committee consisting of government officials and traders was set up to choose five markets. The committee zeroed in on nine markets, visited them, interacted with stakeholders and identified the scale and scope of redevelopment, and finally, recommended five names, the official added explaining how the five markets were chosen.
“Unique selling points, footfall, scale of business, existing civic infrastructure, revenue generation, heritage value, space for parking were among the criteria for selection. These five markets are not only popular in Delhi but also in the entire NCR, and their redevelopment holds significant potential for jobs generation,” the official said asking not to be named.
Tourism department and the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation will coordinate efforts among different agencies and stakeholders for plan’s implementation.
Market associations have welcomed the government’s move and promised to extend their cooperation for the execution of the redevelopment plan. Chairman of the Chamber of Trade & Industry, a federation of traders associations, Brijesh Goyal who was part of the 8-member committee, said the panel visited nine shortlisted markets for further assessment. “We visited the nine
markets and studied every aspect and finalised the names of five markets. All the problems flagged by the traders have been noted down and will be addressed,” said Goyal.
Nitin Gupta, president of Kamla Nagar Traders Association said the market was established in 1950 and has not seen much of an upgrade over the years. “The redevelopment will lead to increase in footfall and growth of business. We want modern toilets, air purifiers, CCTV cameras, parking infrastructure, Wifi towers, and beautification work besides basic infrastructure revamp,” said Gupta.
Ghanshyam Kushwah, president of New Timber Market Dealer Association of Kirti Nagar said the redevelopment will transform the market and attract buyers not just from other cities but also from foreign countries.
Ashok Kalra, secretary of Sarojini Market Shopkeepers Association, said the market is facing several challenges such as lack of adequate parking, encroachment on roads, unregulated hawkers (mobile), congestion and poor crowd management. “Redevelopment of the market will improve business opportunities and increase footfall. We welcome the government’s move,” said Kalra.