A draft redevelopment plan for Delhi has been approved by the MCD and has been forwarded to the DDA for approval. Once the plan is OK’d, it will act as a base for redeveloping any property within the defined special area of Master Plan of Delhi-2021.
Delhi has spilled over to its surrounding areas to an extent that further development of urban extensions around the city is severely limited due to non availability of land.
In this context, the Master Plan of Delhi, 2021 (MPD-2021) has proposed the redevelopment of builtup areas through the process of reorganization and utilization of existing land to accommodate more population in a planned manner.
As a part of this process, the "Special Areas", which encircle three prominent old areas namely: (i) Walled city, (ii) Walled City and Extension, and (iii) Karol Bagh, has been identified as one of the areas for redevelopment. The boundary of these 'Special Areas' conceived in the Master Plan enclose areas falling in Development Zones A, B and a small portion of Zone C, covering partly or wholly around 24 wards.
The strategy is to provide suitable framework for allowing mixed-use activities appropriate to the character of the areas according to individual schemes having greater flexibility which permit a variety of uses like commercial use (shops, offices, banks, etc), household industries or outlets for specialized services, besides accommodating more population.
To analyse in detail the trends towards commercialization in these areas, a socio-economic survey of households and commercial establishments was conducted in various parts of the Special Areas. The employment pattern within the Special Areas is unique in all parts. Partwise analysis of workers indicates association of specific type of establishments with each part.
Whereas employment in Part 1 (Walled City) is mainly in garment related trade, in Part 2, a variety of employment avenues exist in trade related to garments, electronic goods and auto parts. In Part 3 areas, establishments dealing in garments and jewellery predominate. In Part 4, Karol Bagh residential is marked by businesses relating to furniture and auto parts. The Part 5 areas are known mainly for industrial activities and trade in building materials and fruits and vegetables.
The survey covered aspects like demography, employment, type and size of establishments, mode of transportation of produced goods and other economic characteristics. These characteristics were comparatively analysed for parts of the Special Areas. The analysis lead to the finding that various parts have varying economic vibrancy, which is related to future commercialization.
It was found that Part 3, which includes the Karol Bagh area, has the maximum economic vibrancy. Surprisingly Part 1, which appears to be the most highly commercialized area, is ranked lowest in terms of economic vibrancy. This may be due to the fact that whereas in Karol Bagh area where, the layout is based on a gridiron pattern, the commercial use has penetrated deep into all parts. In Part-1, comprising the Old City of Shahjahanabad, the dead-end pattern of streets with narrow widths does not allow such commercial penetration. Thus, in Part 1, the commercial use is by and large confined to the peripheral roads alone and has less scope for further increase inside unless redeveloped. Part 2 stands third on the ranking and shows moderate potential for economic up-scaling of activities.
Similar analysis was done wardwise in each part. The analysis identifies the wards in each part, which show economic vibrancy. It has been observed that even if a part is low on economic vibrancy indicator, its specific wards may be transforming rapidly through intrusion of economic activities.
The results were used in formulating the strategic dimensions of a future development policy for each part and wards in the Special Areas. Based on these analyses, the extended Metropolitan City Centre was delineated, which comprised most areas of Part 1 (Walled City), the whole of Part 2 (Walled City Extension, Sadar Bazar and Paharganj), about half of Part 3 (Karol Bagh Commercial) and some part of Part 5 (Old Sabzi Mandi, Roshanara Road and Extension).
These Special Areas are very rich in terms of heritage value. Presently, the Old Delhi areas are getting degenerated and their rich heritage is dying.
The Red Fort, Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk have been jewels in the crown of Shahjahanabad. Chandni Chowk Street forms the most prominent axis of the Walled City. The original Chandni Chowk had octagonal Chowks with a water channel running through the centre. Its wide boulevard with prestigious buildings and bazaar created a vista between the magnificent Red Fort and the Fatehpuri Mosque.
With the passage of time, there has been an all-round degradation and deterioration of this glorious avenue, which can be attributed to several reasons, like over-crowding, encroachments by shops and street vendors, markets, wholesale trade, rickshaws in haphazard traffic, unauthorized constructions, conversion of heritage buildings, overriding commercial interests and private motives, coupled with lack of controls.
The areas have certain weaknesses like the unplanned intrusion of commerce, loss of hierarchy in road width, lack of organized green open space and parking space, growth of commercial activities devastating the local infrastructure, and chaos in movement through various modes of transport system.
There are abundant possibilities which force us to say that the redevelopment is possible for these Old Delhi areas. Excellent connectivity through road, rail and the Metro is one of the biggest strength of these areas. The location of this area, its regional setting, presence of many vacant lands, the oldest commercial destination, globally recognized heritage sites, and an important tourist destination are factors that form the base for a positive outlook for redevelopment to happen.
If the redevelopment does not start soon, the intrusion of commercial activities, the unorganized parking practices creating further chaos in movement, current Infrastructure indirectly affecting tourism potential, would all go into making these areas much more dreadful than even slums.
Most people who live in these areas want the place to redevelop and be like any other advanced and developed area. The stakeholders like the market and trader associations, resident welfare associations, and also the common man, either having a house or a shop in these areas, are mentally and financially ready for the redevelopment process to take place, and that too as soon as possible.
