MASTER PLAN IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT GROUP

premise

MPISG is a synergy platform of citizens’ groups pursuing equitable and sustainable development according to the statutory Delhi Master Plan, simply by securing their entitlements, including by opposing unlawful development and processes that infringe these.

groups

Citizens' groups synergising on MPISG represent all types of settlements / classes and their Master Plan related activities are confined to pursuit of legitimate entitlements by due processes to improve their situation in responsible lawful ways. MORE

synergy

MPISG synergy activities are aimed at, on one hand, pre-empting conflicts and undue privileging and, on the other, sufficient momentum to squarely address, rather than pragmatically side-step, implementation failures and corruption issues.MORE

support

Efforts of MPISG have found support from several quarters, including state agencies (through their statutory mandates and, at times, officials), civil and political organisations, urban / law / media professionals and citizens with similar concerns. MORE

join

To join / synergize mail, with information about Master Plan-related activities / interests, to [email protected]

| posted Apr.2003 | modified Nov.2003 |for information not linked mail to [email protected] | see also DMP-2021 Minder |

groups

| groups in villages | groups in old settlements | groups in planned housing areas | groups in slums in housing areas | groups in slums in non-residential areas | groups in resettlement areas | groups with livelihood entitlements | groups with entitlements to facilities | MPISG planner |


groups in villages

| Mahipalpur Gram Sewa Samiti | Yuva Jagriti Manch | Rangpuri Harijan Kalyan Samiti | Village Mahipalpur - Bundh breached

engaging equally in pursuit of explicit Plan entitlements for development, conservation and integration of villages and on opposing unplanned development on land compulsorily acquired from them since 1962 only for development according to Plan


groups in old settlements

| Rangpuri Pahari bastis | Ambedkar Colony Andheria Morh | Garhiya Lohars |Rangpuri Pahari Chronicle

engaging, in line with Plan entitlements of pre-Plan non-conforming uses, for priority integration in further development rather than status-quo / regularization alternatives.


groups in planned housing areas

| Federation of RWAs of Vasant Kunj (formerly) | Individuals in flats | Individuals in plotted developments | Vasant Kunj flats' chronicle

engaging on safeguarding quality of life entitlements of planned housing, mainly by supporting others in holistic pursuit of planned development (these engagements have been significantly eroded by government's exclusionary bhagidari with RWAs)


groups in slums in housing areas

| Arjun Camp,- Vasant Kunj | Rajiv Gandhi Camp, Vasant Kunj | Giri Nagar, Govindpuri | Arjun Camp Chronicle | RG Camp Chronicle

engaging on securing, on priority as implementation backlog, Plan entitlements for 25% service providers' housing in all residential areas of 100,000 population, including by opposing inferior , problematic and conflict-ridden in-situ or resettlement options.


groups in slums in non-residential areas

| Nangla Manch, Yamuna Pushta |settlements in Okhla industrial area | Yamuna 'encroachments'

beginning to view their situation and options from their housing entitlements' perspective within ambit of residence-workplace relationship premise of the Plan rather than from the contrived conflict in the drifting discourse about the river and industries in the city.


groups in resettlement areas

| Narela | Tikri | Holambi | Bhalaswa Jahangirpuri |Narela - Betrayed by all

beginning to view their situation and options from perspective of injustice (resettlement in sub-standard enclaves of the poor being gross violation of Master Plan and land policy) rather than the beggarly one of pragmatism and favour-seeking for paltry improvements.


groups with livelihood entitlements

| Vasant Kunj hawkers |Mahipalpur | workers' union - Narela |Vasant Kunj hawkers' chronicle

endeavouring to not only secure but also to safeguard Master Plan livelihood entitlements from being downsized / removed in the on-going Plan revision in face of ill-informed policy discourse and imminent policy / legislative changes


groups with entitlements to facilities

| Rangpuri Pahari students |Vasant Kunj Federation (formerly) / residents |Rangpuri students' chronicle

endeavouring to not only secure but also to safeguard Plan entitlements amounting to, say, common school system or safeguard against commercialization of facility spaces, in face of ill-informed policy discourse and imminent policy / legislative changes


MPISG planner

MPISG is only a synergy platform of citizens' groups pursuing their own Plan entitlements in their own ways. Primarily to identify and pre-empt conflicts and spot and suggest options for synergy engagements, Planner to most groups is also part of MPISG.


synergy

| securing Master Plan entitlements | opposing unplanned development jeopardizing entitlements | supporting lawful processes of planned development | opposing alternatives to lawful processes |


Securing Master Plan entitlements

The premise of planned development is balanced, conflict-free resource allocations. Benefits of various Plan provisions thus accrue to more than one group or class and, so, MPISG has seen synergy initiatives out of self interest by:

  flat and basti residents about conditions for local enrolment and free seats in schools |Rangpuri students' chronicle
 

hawkers and flat residents for solutions to problems of extortion and congestion, etc |Vasant Kunj Hawkers' chronicle

 

slum and flat residents to secure low-income housing to avoid resettlement / misuse of sites |Arjun Camp chronicle

Since Plan provisions are unambiguous and have weight of law, they provide simple points for wider class action taking progressive advantage of prior engagements on rights' issues. MPISG has seen synergy initiatives by:

  slum groups progressively building upon engagements of Rangpuri Pahari, etc |NHRC Case Chronicle | Right Housing Rights
 

hawker groups, etc, drawing upon engagements in Vasant Kunj |Master Plan and livelihood rights

 

students/parents elsewhere drawing upon engagements in Rangpuri Pahari |Master Plan and education rights


Opposing unplanned development jeopardizing Plan entitlements

Unplanned development (not implementation backlog) jeopardizes Plan entitlements and opposing it is central to MPISG efforts. All-round support to alternatives in the name of poor, environment, pragmatism, modernism, etc, has made this impossible without recourse to courts and difficult even there due to widespread obfuscation. Sustained area-level synergy initiatives include:

  Coordinated objections to various unplanned schemes in Vasant Kunj area on ground water issues |Water crisis report
  PIL against unplanned mega-housing in green belt near Sultangarhi Tomb - stopped on 16.09.02 |Sultangarhi scheme
 

Slum WP, with support, against up-market use of low-income housing sites |Master Plan housing space - order of 12.11.03

 

Joint PIL against unrestricted up-market disposal of commercial facility space |Master Plan commercial space - PIL

 

Joint PIL against up-market misuse of school sites |Master Plan space for education - PIL

 

Joint PIL against unplanned schemes |Master Plan and land policy rights - PIL

Synergetic engagements on unplanned developments in places where citizens' groups are not associated with MPISG have also been possible:

  Coordinated objections from flats, slums and resettlement areas to proposals for in-situ free flats |Mumbai Model
  Coordinated objections from slum and resettlement areas to land acquisition for resettlement |Bhalaswa Public Notice
 

Engagements on Sultangarhi connected on heritage, greens and MoCA to Safdarjung area plans |Safdarjang Airport plans

 

Engagements on ridge and riverbed connected to metro development on CGWA notification |Metro plans


Supporting lawful processes of planned development

Expressing support for the Master Plan, its custodian institutions and its processes - especially the Public Notice process as the only lawful, democratic and inclusive process of participation - is central to MPISG synergy activities.

 

Joint demonstration in support of the Master Plan (July - September 2001) |Demonstration dossier

 

Delhi Master Plan Minder based largely on MPISG engagements (January - June 2003) |DMP-2021 Minder

 

Celebrating the Constitution and democracy in the wake of DDA scam expose (April 2003) |Invitation |Support Statement

 

Synergizing to mobilize substantive local response to Sultangarhi Public Notice (October 2003) |Sultangarhi Public Notice

 

Coordinated response to other Public Notices |DERC |Land acquisition for resettlement |Land acquisition in ridge

 

IIC series for gearing-up for citizens' participation through Public Notice (April - June 2003) |Account of the series

 

Coordinated response to Standing Parliamentary committee inviting views on DDA functioning (July 2003) |SPC notice

 

Independence Day support statement for lawful Plan revision in view of guidelines (August 2003) |Support statement

MPISG synergy efforts have also endeavoured to position an entitlements' perspective of planned development in public discourse and, especially, on institutional and political agenda.

 

Engaging political leaders / parties to field Plan entitlements on political agenda |Politics dossier

 

Participation in Municipal election with proxy candidate to seek vote for Master Plan (March 2002) |Election dossier

 

Soliciting authorities' interventions w.r.t their statutory Master Plan responsibilites |Authorities' dossier

 

Efforts to place DDA scam in Master Plan mandate perspective (April-June 2003) |DDA scam dossier

 

Engagement on white paper on slums (May - July 2003) |Demand for promised White Paper

 

Citizens' groups' Joint statement following Election Commission directive (July 2003) |Joint Statement


Opposing alternatives to lawful processes

Since 2000 thousands with primary stakes in planned development are engaging on MPISG on matters being debated in the Delhi discourse. Yet the discourse, in reckless drift towards anarchy, endlessly continues to posit ab-initio alternatives unconnected to statutory solutions and entitlements. MPISG has been challenging with reference to its synergy experiences:

 

Plan revision at variance from due process (since 2000) |Guidelines of 2003: from recommendations of 1999 via skirted scam

 

exclusionary bhagidari (since 2001) |Bonhomie of bhagidari: consigning middle class to middle-men for politics of favour

 

hawker policy discourse (since October 2001) |Hawking Hawkers: consigning the poor to NGOs for privatizing policy-making

 

discourse on industries (since November 2002) |Great Terrain Robbery: leaving governance to courts, without comin clean

 

discourse on Delhi slums (since November 2002) |Slumming Delhi: leaving cures to quacks - November orders 2002 / 2003

 

discourse on education for the poor (since December 2002) |Teaching all our children: endlessly learning how we might

 

pro-poor pity (since December 2002) | Night Shelters: displacing housing on the homelessness agenda

 

pro-environment activism (since July 2003) |Safdarjang Airport: displacing priorities on the environment agenda

 

new law in conflict with existing law (since July 2003) |Recent history: lapse in law in legislation did not count

 

DMP-2021 Guidelines, with no basis in law (since July 2003) |Clear and present future: Truth fabricated out of oft-repeated lie


support


Delhi Development Authority, as distinct from its officials, on account of its unambiguous sole statutory mandate of development according to Plan provides legitimacy to MPISG’s synergy purpose (since 2000)

Ministry of Urban Development paved the way for MPISG to eventually form by giving written permission, in response to a Plan provisions based letter from MPISG Planner to the Minister, for reconstruction of homes demolished (July 2000)

National Human Rights Commission provided necessary confidence at the time by promptly opening an inquiry into the demolition without notice in response to MPISG Planner’s telephonic complaint (July 2000)

Central Ground Water Authority responded to MPISG Planners’ letters about indiscriminate withdrawal of ground water in the duly notified area and eventually also objected to DDA’s unplanned development in it (since early 2001)

Planning Commission provided an opportunity for MPISG’s position on slums to be expressed through its Planner’s presentation at an experts’ meeting and subsequently included Plan provisions in the Expert Group’s report (August 2001)

Central Vigilance Commission provided an opportunity for MPISG’s position on hawking to be placed before the whole Commission through a presentation and film screening by its Planner (December 2001)

HUDCO provided an opportunity for MPISG’s position on hawking to be introduced in the draft national hawker policy by allowing its Planner to leave with it part of her professional documentation (February 2002)

Federation of RWAs of Vasant Kunj facilitated meetings with member RWAs for MPISG Planner, partnered with the hawkers' association in its interim arrangement and, at times, expressed solidarity on slum residents' issues (mid-2001)

Jan Chetna Manch, in addition to its support for resisting arbitrary demolition attempts, gave MPISG Planner a patient and open-minded hearing and even modified its previous anti-Plan position (late 2001)

Jodogyan worked with the children at a time when they were badly disappointed with the lack of response to their efforts and contributed to keeping the forum of students and parents together (late 2001)

Forum for Indian Heritage and Culture objected to DDA’s unplanned scheme on technical grounds relating to its location in the historic cultural landscape around Sultangarhi Tomb and has, since, undertaken studies of the same (since late 2001)

Delhi Science Forum made room for the Plan Revision Minder on its website, extended support on ground water issues and was petitioner in the PIL that stopped DDA’s illegal scheme in Rangpuri Pahari (since late 2001)

CPI-M extended MPISG issue-based support in the municipal elections, providing it access to other citizens’ groups in the ward through CITU and AIDWA and subsequently helped groups on specific matters as well (since March 2002)

Mahanagar Asangathit Mazdur Union helped by taking up the matter of an accidental death of a worker on the site of DDA’s illegal scheme and has otherwise been coordinating with MPISG efforts of citizens’ groups in Narela (since mid-2002)

Katha provided MPISG Planner a platform to speak about the entitlements’ perspective of the Master Plan and how it contained the solution to the slum problem in Delhi (January 2003)

Social Jurist agreed to incorporate in its rejoinder to DDA’s counter-affidavit skirting its responsibilities in respect of free seats in schools correspondence in behalf of the forum of students and parents to DDA (March 2003)

India International Centre provided a platform for a series of discussions among citizens' groups and young professionals to gear-up for the Public Notice of the revised Plan, as proposed by MPISG (April - June 2003).

Project WHYarranged a platform for a series of discussions among citizens' groups and young professionals to

India International Centre provided a platform for a series of discussions among citizens' groups and young professionals to


groups

Chronicles ~

Mahipalpur ~ Rangpuri Pahari ~ Vasant Kunj flats ~ Arjun Camp ~ RG Camp ~ VK hawkers ~ Rangpuri students

Accounts ~ Yamuna encroachments ~ Narela betrayed by all

synergy

Securing entitlements

Rangpuri students ~ Vasant Kunj hawkers ~ Arjun Camp

Right Housing Rights / NHRC Case ~ Livelihood rights ~ Education rights

Opposing unplanned development Water crisis report ~ Sultangarhi ~ housing / order Nov 2003 ~ commercial / PIL ~ education / PIL ~ land policy PIL

Mumbai Model ~ Bhalaswa Public Notice ~ Safdarjang Airport plans ~ Metro plans

Supporting lawful processes Demonstration dossier ~ DMP-2021 Minder ~ April 2003Support Statement ~ Sultangarhi Public Notice ~ IIC series ~ DERC / Bhalaswa / Mehrauli Public Notices ~ Standing Parliamentary Committee responses ~ ID support for lawful Plan revision

Politics dossier ~ Election dossier ~ Authorities' dossier ~ DDA scam dossier ~ Demand for promised white paper ~ Joint Statement

Opposing alternative processes Guidelines of 2003: from recommendations of 1999 via skirted scam ~ Bonhomie of bhagidari: consigning middle class to middle-men for politics of favour ~ Hawking Hawkers: consigning the poor to NGOs for privatizing policy-making ~ Great Terrain Robbery: leaving governance to courts, without comin clean ~ Slumming Delhi: leaving cures to quacks - November orders 2002 / 2003 ~ Teaching all our children: endlessly learning how we might ~ Night Shelters: displacing housing on the homelessness agenda ~ Safdarjang Airport: displacing priorities on the environment agenda ~ Recent history: lapse in law in legislation did not count ~ Clear and present future: Truth fabricated out of oft-repeated lie

documents

Reports to authorities

(within ambit of Plan implementation)

Implementation of Master Plan provisions for hawkers, May 2001

Implementation of Master Plan provisions for school education for the poor, June 2001

Implementation of Master Plan provisions for low income housing to solve the slum problem, July 2001

Water crisis or crisis of subversion of planned development, May 2002

Yamuna encroachments action plan, 2003

suggestion for Plan modification

Safdarjang district park site use w.r.t ridge and riverbed threats

Court cases Sultangarhi - unplanned scheme in green belt

Arjun Camp - misuse of low-income housing space a

MPISG groups - misuse of commercial space

MPISG groups - misuse of education space

MPISG village / old settlements' groups - unplanned new development

Other cases Rangpuri Pahari - NHRC

Hawkers - CVC

Public Notice responses Sultangarhi

Mixed landuse liberalization

Metro property development

DERC

Land acquisition for resettlement

Idgah / industries

Standing Parliamentary Committee

Guidelines

Land acquisition in ridge

DDU Marg landuse change

Gita Dewan Verma / MPISG Planner