NEW DELHI: The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Tuesday finally approved allotment of a plot measuring 400 square metres for construction of Sant Ravidas temple.
The approval was accorded during a DDA meeting which was chaired by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, who is also the chairman of the body.
“On the recommendations of the Board of Enquiry, the authority has approved (allotment of land) and a proposal shall be sent to the Ministry of Home and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) for final notification,” said a statement issued by the DDA.
As the allotted land was located in Jahapanah city forest, a change of land use from ‘recreational’ to ‘public and semi-public’ and a no objection certificate (NOC) from the forest department of Delhi government were required.
The authority had proposed the land use change in October last year and invited objections and suggestions from the public.
The DDA had, on August 10, 2019, demolished the temple as it was located on forest land, following a Supreme Court order.
This had led to massive protests by the followers of Sant Ravidas in Delhi and several parts of north India.
In November 2019, the apex court had allowed construction of the temple at the same location.
In the meeting on Tuesday, the authority also took various other important decisions.
It approved regulations for Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and allowed CNG or electric vehicles (EV) charging stations in community centres located on roads having width of 24 metre as against the existing provision of minimum 30 metre to promote green fuel.
The DDA officials said that approval for CNG and EV charging in community centres will facilitate setting up of CNG-cum-EV stations in developed areas where there is no scope of road widening.
Considering the carrying capacity of Delhi in terms of infrastructure requirement, the TOD policy was revised and notified in December 2019.
This revised policy was incorporated as a separate chapter in the master plan of Delhi (MPD) 2021.
However, it required certain rectifications in the corresponding chapters to enable the revised TOD policy to be implemented.