Capital chaos

The perfect solution: address mass illegalities by legalising them. This, in effect, is the dodge that the Sheila Dikshit government is perpetrating on the citizens of Delhi. The Congress government in Delhi is seeking to amend the existing Masterplan for the Capital in order to avoid shifting out those industrial units that are at present illegally located in demarcated residential areas, as directed by the Supreme Court.

This cynical move has the potential of wrecking the nation8217;s Capital and throwing to the winds every principle of town planning. Indeed, it demands the immediate intervention of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a man who is known to be a stickler for rules. He should instruct his party colleagues, including the chief minister of Delhi, that such a step is not in the interests of the party and the government no matter what the immediate pressures are. Let us remind Sheila Dikshit that she has benefitted electorally from her image as a custodian of the city8217;s welfare. The switchover to CNG for public transport vehicles had in its time raised a storm but, ultimately, it helped the fortunes of the Congress party because the ordinary voter perceived the benefits of the step. Shifting industrial units to the legally demarcated industrial areas in conformity with the existing Masterplan may be politically difficult but is certainly in the long term interests of the Capital. If those in whose hands the city8217;s fortunes lie choose the easy way out and change the rules to suit the circumstance, it could usher in a free-for-all regime in which those with the greatest political clout get to decide everything. As the Supreme Court has already observed, this would amount to penalising law-abiding residents and destroying the city8217;s soul.

There is a larger issue at stake and one that goes far beyond Delhi8217;s specific fortunes. India, as a rapidly urbanising society 8212; some projections indicate that 40 per cent of the country8217;s population will be living in urban areas by 2015 8212; needs to be guided by the principles of enlightened urban planning if its cities are not to become agglomerations of chaos. And urban planning is the job of professionals, not politicians.