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 |
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 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.
| 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 |
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 |
|
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 |
|
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 |
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