Secretary, MoUD, GoI
Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi – 110011

Sub: Mandatory Plan monitoring data
Ref: Letter No.F11(18)96/Mont/55 dt. 05.02.03 to me from DDA Monitoring Wing

Dear Sir,

I am in receipt of the letter under reference, purportedly in response to my letter of 24.12.02 to you. I think it refers to the enclosure in my letter of 01.10.02 (enumerating clarifications that I have been seeking from MoUD and its authorities about implementation of Master Plan entitlements), referred / enclosed again in my letters of 15.10.02 and 24.10.02.

The letter under reference speaks of pilot-projects, concepts, etc, that bear no relation to Master Plan entitlements and, in effect, arguably downsize them. The letter, therefore, fails to provide any clarifications that I have sought, which are essentially about implementation status, reasons for non-implementation and corrective measures proposed in the on-going Plan revision apropos:

1. Hawkers. Plan entitlements by way of planned space for 3 – 4 lakh hawkers (pp.17-18, etc)
2. Slums. Plan entitlements by way of 4.25 lakh housing plots for EWS/service providers (pp.6, 87)
3. Industries. Plan entitlements by way of planned industrial space for nearly 1 lakh units (pp.9-13)
4. Carrying capacity / Regional Dispersal. Plan entitlements for carrying capacity based sustainable development, embodied in provisions for environment (pp.36, 47-48) and regional dispersal (pp.1-4), as well as safeguards provided by mandatory Monitoring data basis for identifying development needs for preparation of, for instance, J-zone Plan (p. 49 with p. 86, 89).

I have been seeking clarifications, etc, amounting to accountability on Plan implementation from DDA because DDA is mandated only for this and from MoUD because it is DDA’s nodal Ministry. I am especially alarmed by the letter under reference because it comes from DDA’s Monitoring Wing, which according to my interpretation of the Plan is responsible for minding Plan implementation. In pp. 86-92 of the Plan relating to Plan Monitoring, especially pp. 91-92 about the Monitoring Unit and Plan Review, I read a mandatory role for the Monitoring Unit in data collection on Plan implementation targets, etc, and for this data to form basis of the on-going Plan review. The content of the letter under reference from DDA’s Monitoring Unit appears to me to bear no relation to its role as defined by the Master Plan, within the ambit of DDA’s purpose as defined by Delhi Development Act.

I am enclosing (at Encl.2) herewith lists of clarifications, expanded in view of recent announcements, etc, that I continue to seek even after receiving, purportedly in response, the letter under reference. I am doing so only because I would be failing in my plannerly responsibility if I would not keep drawing attention to accountability on implementation in the ongoing Plan revision that will provide the statutory framework for my city’s development for the next 20 years.

As an overarching concern I wish to place on record my view that mandatory Plan Monitoring provisions, incorporated especially in the revised Plan approved in 1990 to deal with implementation failures in the previous Plan period, appear to have been de facto modified. Details of this Plan modification, including basis and process, along with the alternative basis for Plan modifications and review that substitutes the role of these statutory provisions, needs to be made public. This is imperative for informed public scrutiny and comment on the draft revised Master Plan for 2021, which DDA Commissioner Planning has lately been reported saying is likely to be notified in March. In my opinion,public clarification about the basis of the ongoing Plan revision, which is obviously not the mandatory monitoring basis envisaged in the Plan, is not only desirable for transparency but also necessary to establish legality of the ongoing Plan revision. I hope MoUD will ensure such clarification is made before the draft revised Plan is made public.

Yours sincerely

sd/-

Gita Dewan Verma

Planner