"It?s a sad draft Master Plan. It?s low in terms of
expertise?" sums up Dr Geetam Tiwari"
(The lady, unlike Shourie, seems one of the
"confidante experts" that have the draft! TRIPP-IIT
sponsored, with Action-Aid etc, the anti-DMP NGO-book
launched in Nov 2003 by Azmi and Roy)
-------
Asian Age
?Plan is full of vague terms & lacks vision?
- By Rabin Sharma
New Delhi, Jan. 19: "It?s a sad draft Master Plan.
It?s low in terms of expertise, high on adjectives and
devoid of any congruity between the vision it holds
and the resources available. It?s a wish list without
solutions and is replete with vague terms like ?decent
standard for every citizen towards a world class
city?," sums up Dr Geetam Tiwari, professor for
transportation planning and chair associate,
Transportation Research Injury Prevention Programme,
IIT Delhi.
"To begin with, the plan has failed to define in
certain terms what a world class city concept holds
for the people of Delhi. The plan has to be from the
citizens? perspective which has been grossly
undermined. At the outset, this plan needed to
identify whether Delhi is one city or several cities
packed together. The lifestyle of the people and their
mode of transport is to be taken into consideration
and needs to be planned accordingly," says Dr Tiwari.
"Has the DDA learnt from its past two plans since
1962? They have yet again undermined the most vital
links, like the ones between shelter and employment,
and formal and informal sectors. People migrate from
other states to Delhi in large numbers, which is the
underlying cause for the two said big problems in the
Capital, namely illegal shelters and encroachment. But
the plan is devoid of any explicit policy on the
same," she says.
"Why can?t the planners understand the simple fact
that people flock to Delhi not for house, but
employment, and predominantly constitute the work
force in the informal sector here," she says. "Even a
DDA colony resident requires a host of services like
washerperson, domestic help and night guard. A plan
with a vision should spell out in clear terms how
would it strike a balance between all these aspects.
Sadly, these have not been factored in."
On plan specifications on the mode of transport, Dr
Tiwari points out glaring contradictions. "The plan
envisages that the Metro by 2021 will cater to 60 per
cent of the commuters in the city and simultaneously
advocates that the major dependence of the people in
Delhi will be on the bus system. To make the Metro
successful, a Hong Kong or Singapore township pattern
is necessary. This will require massive changes in our
constructions. The plan promotes the Metro, but does
not talk of the intensive change in the landuse
pattern this would necessitate," she explains.
Pointing to another case of poor understanding of the
planners, Dr Tiwari says, "One does not need bicycle
tracks in residential streets where the mechanism
present coupled with lower speed limits could be
sufficient. It?s the arterial roads where the tracks
are required."
__________________________________
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expertise?" sums up Dr Geetam Tiwari"
(The lady, unlike Shourie, seems one of the
"confidante experts" that have the draft! TRIPP-IIT
sponsored, with Action-Aid etc, the anti-DMP NGO-book
launched in Nov 2003 by Azmi and Roy)
-------
Asian Age
?Plan is full of vague terms & lacks vision?
- By Rabin Sharma
New Delhi, Jan. 19: "It?s a sad draft Master Plan.
It?s low in terms of expertise, high on adjectives and
devoid of any congruity between the vision it holds
and the resources available. It?s a wish list without
solutions and is replete with vague terms like ?decent
standard for every citizen towards a world class
city?," sums up Dr Geetam Tiwari, professor for
transportation planning and chair associate,
Transportation Research Injury Prevention Programme,
IIT Delhi.
"To begin with, the plan has failed to define in
certain terms what a world class city concept holds
for the people of Delhi. The plan has to be from the
citizens? perspective which has been grossly
undermined. At the outset, this plan needed to
identify whether Delhi is one city or several cities
packed together. The lifestyle of the people and their
mode of transport is to be taken into consideration
and needs to be planned accordingly," says Dr Tiwari.
"Has the DDA learnt from its past two plans since
1962? They have yet again undermined the most vital
links, like the ones between shelter and employment,
and formal and informal sectors. People migrate from
other states to Delhi in large numbers, which is the
underlying cause for the two said big problems in the
Capital, namely illegal shelters and encroachment. But
the plan is devoid of any explicit policy on the
same," she says.
"Why can?t the planners understand the simple fact
that people flock to Delhi not for house, but
employment, and predominantly constitute the work
force in the informal sector here," she says. "Even a
DDA colony resident requires a host of services like
washerperson, domestic help and night guard. A plan
with a vision should spell out in clear terms how
would it strike a balance between all these aspects.
Sadly, these have not been factored in."
On plan specifications on the mode of transport, Dr
Tiwari points out glaring contradictions. "The plan
envisages that the Metro by 2021 will cater to 60 per
cent of the commuters in the city and simultaneously
advocates that the major dependence of the people in
Delhi will be on the bus system. To make the Metro
successful, a Hong Kong or Singapore township pattern
is necessary. This will require massive changes in our
constructions. The plan promotes the Metro, but does
not talk of the intensive change in the landuse
pattern this would necessitate," she explains.
Pointing to another case of poor understanding of the
planners, Dr Tiwari says, "One does not need bicycle
tracks in residential streets where the mechanism
present coupled with lower speed limits could be
sufficient. It?s the arterial roads where the tracks
are required."
__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
The all-new My Yahoo! - Get yours free!
http://my.yahoo.com