Geeta,..
We wanted to look at the draft Zonal plans for ridge and riverbed areas and
could not find the riverbed area / O-Zone plan on DDA website on Monday. On
Wednesday Sameer and I were passing near Vikas Minar and thought of picking
up a copy. (Before IT Park EIA hearing also Sameer had gone there, but
copies were not available then). It was lunchtime, so we dropped into
Belagaon,that is the site of what was Belagaon.
Quite a few people are still staying in their fields.
They had been trying to call you about the latest round of harassment in the
forenoon.
A chowkidaar and someone supposed to be patwari etc had come around to ask
they take their parchis and go to Bawana and have threatened to return with
police on Friday. They refused to listen about the cooperation undertaking
of DDA to CIC or that CIC order for information about Bawana had not been
complied. We told that CIC has dismissed, on grounds of locus, our RTI case
(which, like theirs, was about information of what happened to our
suggestion for village-owned eco-visitation).
In DDA we were told O-Zone Plan has been uploaded on the website on Tuesday
and copy can be purchased for Rs.70. The amount has to be deposited on first
floor and the document collected on some other floor, etc, and we did all
that. We also asked to meet Mr Parate
(Director) but he was not in and we were asked to meet Mr Behera. Sameer had
briefly met both at hearing for Games Village (to which we had filed
preliminary objection with Belagaon, along with RTI request for details,
which Mrs Neemo Dhar provided us only partly and only later). We wanted to
know if DDA was likely to consider suggestion of short-lease eco-visitation
projects in partnership between cultivater communities like Belagaon and
firms like ours. We were quite taken aback by what Mr Behera had to say. As
I recall it, he
said:
* Belagaon is no more there so there is no point talking of partnership with
it.
* There is no point talking of partnership with other villages either, as
they are all going to be evicted.
* Camping-site is not a land use (when I said it was shown as one of the
uses to be changed for Games Village, he said that was a mistake; about it
being mentioned in the O-Zone draft plan he said nothing)
* IT Park is being built by high-level decisions and Games Village in
national interest and Secretariat is already there and some of the
extensive-development items mentioned in the O-Zone draft plan will be
removed
* Most of O-Zone is going to be developed for Recreation and they are
thinking of 25 years JVs
* Belagaon people in should take their parchis and go to Bawana, which is
up-coming industrial area (He mentioned Narela, Madanpur Khadar, Trilokpuri
as examples of resettlement where property prices have gone up and people
have built four floor houses. He also said people should be glad they are
getting nearly free plots, even officers like him can't afford houses of
their choice)
Mr Behera asked us what exactly we do but made no comment on our business
model. He said we should file suggestions in response to O-Zone Public
Notice. I asked why/how when we have no information/feedback about their
rejection in previous public notices since IT Park. He mentioned your metro
case was listed the same day, almost mysteriously, so we called last night
to ask you about that and tell the rest.
We have been talking and think that DDA initiative in the Belagaon matter,
if you were expecting any, looks unlikely. Also, the people we met are,
while no doubt determined people, tiring and loosing heart. We are going to
be at the camps for a couple of days, but if you want to have a meeting or
something later next week do tell.
Manoj
We wanted to look at the draft Zonal plans for ridge and riverbed areas and
could not find the riverbed area / O-Zone plan on DDA website on Monday. On
Wednesday Sameer and I were passing near Vikas Minar and thought of picking
up a copy. (Before IT Park EIA hearing also Sameer had gone there, but
copies were not available then). It was lunchtime, so we dropped into
Belagaon,that is the site of what was Belagaon.
Quite a few people are still staying in their fields.
They had been trying to call you about the latest round of harassment in the
forenoon.
A chowkidaar and someone supposed to be patwari etc had come around to ask
they take their parchis and go to Bawana and have threatened to return with
police on Friday. They refused to listen about the cooperation undertaking
of DDA to CIC or that CIC order for information about Bawana had not been
complied. We told that CIC has dismissed, on grounds of locus, our RTI case
(which, like theirs, was about information of what happened to our
suggestion for village-owned eco-visitation).
In DDA we were told O-Zone Plan has been uploaded on the website on Tuesday
and copy can be purchased for Rs.70. The amount has to be deposited on first
floor and the document collected on some other floor, etc, and we did all
that. We also asked to meet Mr Parate
(Director) but he was not in and we were asked to meet Mr Behera. Sameer had
briefly met both at hearing for Games Village (to which we had filed
preliminary objection with Belagaon, along with RTI request for details,
which Mrs Neemo Dhar provided us only partly and only later). We wanted to
know if DDA was likely to consider suggestion of short-lease eco-visitation
projects in partnership between cultivater communities like Belagaon and
firms like ours. We were quite taken aback by what Mr Behera had to say. As
I recall it, he
said:
* Belagaon is no more there so there is no point talking of partnership with
it.
* There is no point talking of partnership with other villages either, as
they are all going to be evicted.
* Camping-site is not a land use (when I said it was shown as one of the
uses to be changed for Games Village, he said that was a mistake; about it
being mentioned in the O-Zone draft plan he said nothing)
* IT Park is being built by high-level decisions and Games Village in
national interest and Secretariat is already there and some of the
extensive-development items mentioned in the O-Zone draft plan will be
removed
* Most of O-Zone is going to be developed for Recreation and they are
thinking of 25 years JVs
* Belagaon people in should take their parchis and go to Bawana, which is
up-coming industrial area (He mentioned Narela, Madanpur Khadar, Trilokpuri
as examples of resettlement where property prices have gone up and people
have built four floor houses. He also said people should be glad they are
getting nearly free plots, even officers like him can't afford houses of
their choice)
Mr Behera asked us what exactly we do but made no comment on our business
model. He said we should file suggestions in response to O-Zone Public
Notice. I asked why/how when we have no information/feedback about their
rejection in previous public notices since IT Park. He mentioned your metro
case was listed the same day, almost mysteriously, so we called last night
to ask you about that and tell the rest.
We have been talking and think that DDA initiative in the Belagaon matter,
if you were expecting any, looks unlikely. Also, the people we met are,
while no doubt determined people, tiring and loosing heart. We are going to
be at the camps for a couple of days, but if you want to have a meeting or
something later next week do tell.
Manoj