NEW DELHI: The group housing societies in the national capital have consented to participate in the improvement and redevelopment of their colonies. They even suggested including provisions of installation of solar panels and shifting of utility services underground in the societies in the new Master Plan of Delhi (MPD) 2041 being formulated by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA).
In a meeting with resident welfare associations (RWAs) of housing societies, organised to seek inputs on the MPD on Wednesday, they also discussed the issues related to shared facilities and spaces. “RWAs said that some colonies had adopted good practices for solid waste management while others still had the issue of collection and segregation of waste. There was an insistence on promoting solar panel installation, underground cabling of electricity and optical fibre cable (OFC) infrastructure, which may be included in future plans,” said an official of the Delhi.
Around 70 participants—residents and RWAs— who had registered through emails, attended the meeting chaired by Leenu Sahgal, Commissioner (Planning) and HK Bharti, Additional Commissioner (Planning) of DDA. “The participants were requested to share their suggestions towards improving the built environment, improvement of civic facilities and other planning concerns, pertaining such as redevelopment, open spaces, water supply, solid waste management and parking. Augmentation of existing infrastructure, ensuring fire safety and provision of lifts, etc were other concerns of improvement related to redevelopment and upgradation,” said the official.
Some of the participants also suggested creating a specific redevelopment policy for group housing colonies with planned densification, upgradation of infrastructure and the need for a robust implementation framework for Master Plan 2041. The DDA has started the initiative—holding meetings with stakeholders— for a better and comprehensive roadmap for Delhi’s planned development in the next two decades. It aims to seek views of city residents and other stakeholders such as market and traders association, entrepreneurs, professionals, and especially youth for the formulation of new MPD.