Sealing buildings is a reactive and coercive exercise, says Dikshu Kukreja
Dikshu C Kukreja, Asia's one of the top Town Planner and Internationally known Expert on the Civic Issues has lambasted the sealing drive in Delhi by saying “Sealing buildings which are not conforming to the prescribed land use is a reactive and coercive exercise.” “It is easy to seal the premises of the defaulting masses. But the more important and energy consuming process is to sit down, listen to them and make changes to the laws,” said Kukreja in a statement issued here in Delhi. Traders across the Delhi city are agitated after the south and north municipal corporations have carried out sealing drives on targeting several properties for misuse and unauthorised construction as per the directions of a Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee. Kukreja's, who had designed several Iconic Buildings in India including the JNU Campus and Delhi Jim Khana Club in the past said, "The civic bodies and other development authorities need to be in sync with the demands of the city – especially the fast growth of the city. With the growth in population, land use becomes dynamic and at times requires change considering that more and more people need to use the same resource – land. Hence land use change should be judiciously handled." "The money which the civic bodies collect should be used for enhancing the infrastructure of the area like building more parking areas, fire exits, water tanks for firefighting and other amenities. Public safety cannot be ignored in name of development, which is a must," said Kukreja who is also an Expert on the Smart Cities and the urban Infrastructure in India. Kukreja said, "All development laws should be formulated with public participation. Needs of the public cannot be ignored and can be taken into account only through direct public involvement." "Bye laws and other development norms have to be minutely managed which means that requirements of populace of Defence Colony, for instance, cannot be the same as that of a market in Dwarka or East Delhi or Rohini or Khan Market. Hence “One Size Fits All” cannot be applied and certain bye laws need to be framed at micro level", he further said. He added, "what is desirable is to understand the needs of the city, the existing gaps in what is provided and find sustainable solutions which enhance the city and quality of life for its citizens."
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