DDA gets 725 public suggestions on Master Plan amendment

The Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA’s) proposal, to amend the Master Plan for Delhi, has received 725 suggestions from the public. The proposals include bringing a uniform floor area ratio (FAR) for shop-cum-residence plots and complexes, at par with residential plots, to bring relief to traders from the ongoing sealing drive, which was initiated in December 2017 from the Defence Colony market in south Delhi, at the instance of a Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee. After issuing a notification on the amendment about a week ago, the DDA had sought public suggestions and objections to it. “We have received 725 feedback from the public, which includes suggestions and objections. After a meeting of the board of inquiry, they will now be put before the Authority and its final decision will then be sent to the centre for approval,” a senior DDA official said. Asked, how much of the feedback would be incorporated into the Master Plan, he said the Authority would take a decision on that. Initially, the window to receive suggestions or objections was kept for three days from the date of notification, but was later extended to two more days. The DDA has proposed to bring a uniform FAR for shop-cum-residence plots and complexes, at par with residential plots. The FAR is the ratio of a building’s total floor area (gross floor area) to the size of the piece of land on which it is built. BJP leader and DDA member Vijender Gupta had earlier said, “The FAR for 100 sq metres was earlier variable, ranging from 180 to 225, but now it is proposed to be a uniform 350 for 100 sq metres.” The urban body has also proposed reducing the penalty charges from ’10 times to two times’, for the violation of the other terms and conditions for properties meant for mixed use. The proposals, which hinge on an amendment to the Master Plan for Delhi (MPD-2021), were approved during a meeting of the DDA recently, held under the chairmanship of Lt Governor Anil Baijal. The DDA, however, said the provisions for parking as per the prevailing standards should be mandatory, for approval or sanctioning of any revised plans by the local bodies, in case of shop-cum-residence plots or shop-cum-residence plots designated as local shopping centres (LSCs). At the meeting, the DDA proposed to ‘allow commercial activity at the basements of all commercial streets and areas, subject to the payment of the requisite charges, without any discrimination’.