THE plans sound grandiose, at least on paper. For the new housing policy announced by the Ministry of Urban Affairs and Employment remains just that: a bulky government file. And given the magnitude of the plans and bureaucratic procedures involved, it's likely to remain so for some time. Nonetheless, the utopian vision conceived jointly by the ministry and the Delhi administration appears to be a step in the right direction.
For starters, the government plans to privatize construction in urban areas-hitherto a monopoly of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). That is, anybody who owns 30 acres of contiguous land within urban Delhi will be entitled to construct houses, as long as he subscribes to building norms in the Master Plan. In addition, the ministry has come up with a series of incentives to attract private investment in the construction business and free it from the stranglehold of what ministry officials term as the "inspector raj". Among the lures: foreign direct investment to be allowed in construction; building sanctions to be provided by chartered architects; and whopping financial benefits for builders including tax exemptions and securitisation of mortgages.
The ministry also plans to create additional housing by redeveloping the Yamuna river front. This would be made possible by channelising the river on the lines of the Thames in Britain; if implemented, this could secure over 10,000 acres of land on both sides. With the project estimated to cost at least $5 billion, the ministry has mooted throwing open the scheme to foreign developers on a turnkey basis. Also in the pipeline is the creation of a 10-lane express highway on one side and an express railway on the other.
There's more. A committee headed by MP V.K. Malhotra recommended the construction of an additional floor and a basement in residential and commercial buildings in urban Delhi. While most house-owners have already created this additional space, the new proposal would simply legalise it. All this, say ministry officials, could take care of the unattended demand for about 5,000 houses a year.
But there are glaring oversights. For one, given the present real-estate slump, the government's hopes of attracting private investment, particularly in low-cost constructions, may not be realized. Equally vital is infrastructural back-up to additional construction, with civic amenities already stretched beyond the limit.
Ministry officials do not share this skepticism. They point to magnificent proposals to revamp transportation: the now revived MRTS; introduction of air-conditioned buses; and the construction of 17 flyovers. Work is also afoot to augment waste disposal and effluent treatment plants all over the city, setting up a heritage panel to preserve Delhi's monuments and relocating industries in accordance with a recent Supreme Court directive. So is more liveable Delhi in sight? Let's hope so.
