MCD for mixed land use on 229 roads
April 01, 2006. New Delhi: The MCD Standing Committee on Friday saw the ruling Congress pass a blanket resolution seeking notification of 229 roads with more than 50% commercialisation for mixed land use. 

However, shop owners along the 185 roads that face sealing should not expect any respite. Only 41 stretches in this list that are already notifed as falling under the mixed land use category, will be spared. 

The resolution, passed to win over the traders, is unlikely to make it to the notification stage which requires the approval of Delhi government and the lieutenant governor. The reason: The roads have not been selected as per the criteria for mixed land use. 

This list of 229 roads was given to the Supreme Court in November 2005, after a survey of the most commercialised stretches across Delhi. 

While SC asked MCD to initiate action against these roads, the standing committee used this report as an identification mark for roads that should be notified under mixed land use category. In Thursday's House meeting, Congress and BJP had tabled a resolution seeking to notify mixed land use on 185 roads. 
Though Mayor Satbir Singh called for a special House meeting to pass the resolution on Thursday, it was cancelled on Friday morning as the political brass realised that the resolution would require the clearance of the standing committee. 

Congress Councillor Farhad Suri suggested that instead of 185 roads 80-foot wide, the resolution should take into account all the 229 roads details of which were furnished before the SC. 

Leader of the House Jitender Kochhar asked chief town planner V K Bugga to tell how many of the notifed 118 mixed land use stretches already figured in this list of 229. 

While Bugga seemed clueless, engineer-in-chief Ravi Das informed that these roads had been identifed after a short survey.
 

Notification for mixed land use issued
New Delhi, March 28
In a controversial decision, the Centre tonight notified amendments in the Capital’s Master Plan 2001 allowing commercial activities to run in residential areas, bringing relief to small shopkeepers gripped by anxiety in the wake of a Supreme Court directive. 

“The notification is aimed at helping small traders as the Supreme Court has also directed that major and minor violators should be segregated. The decision has been taken in that spirit,” Minister of State for Urban Development Ajay Maken told reporters.

“The decision is according to law and has been taken after considering all legal aspects,” he said.

The new policy would legalise commercial activities on the ground floor of residential premises on as many as 118 roads in the Capital.

The notification comes in the wake of Supreme Court’s direction to MCD to close down commercial establishments operating out of residential premises and also amidst stiff opposition from various Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) across the Capital.

The RWAs are opposed to allowing commercial activities in residential areas as they feel this would put undue strain on the infrastructure, including water, power, parking facilities etc, of such colonies.

Asked about the opposition from RWAs to the move, Maken gave the assurance that they should not panic.

He said the decision would provide relief to thousands of small shopkeepers operating from the ground floor of residential premises.

Maken also said the MCD Commissioner has been informed about the decision and a copy of the notification has been despatched to him.