DDA plan for Yamuna bed: little concrete,more greens

The plan for the area identified as ‘O-zone’ was approved after introducing amendments that will effectively exclude most attempts to concretise the area.

“We made certain amendments following objections and suggestions from public,” DDA’s public relations director Neemo Dhar said. “It has been approved by DDA and the Lieutenant Governor,and will now be sent for notification to Urban Development Ministry.”

Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna had issued a moratorium last year on all construction on the riverbed,except Commonwealth Games Village-related projects. In the draft zonal plan,175 hectares of land south of NH-24 had been set aside for sports facilities — a cricket stadium and a football stadium among others.

DDA also announced that it will divide the area into eight sub-zones on the basis of “recommendation and conclusions arrived at by the statutory plans and studies conducted so far.”

The effort has found favour with some environmentalists. R K Srinivasan,coordinator of water and waste management unit at the Centre for Science and Environment,said: “DDA had earlier planned a lot of commercial activity in the zone. If they have decided to do away with those plans,then this definitely a great move. We will have to study the revised zonal plan but on the surface it seems they have taken environmental concerns into account.”

In the meeting,DDA also approved zonal plans for Narela,or Zone P-II: over 50 per cent area in Narela has been identified for residential use,in keeping with DDA’s aspiration to convert this belt on the city’s outskirts to an important sub-city along the lines for Dwarka.

A DDA official said,“Many such issues were raised at the Board of Enquiry and Hearing and as per law,each objection and suggestion has been examined and,in many cases,incorporated in the final zonal plan.”