The Chairman Naya Raipur Development Authority Raipur (Chhattisgarh)
Sub: Objections in the proposed Development Plan for New Raipur City
Dear Sir,
Sir, we are residents of Raipur having shifted to Gurgaon, adjacent to Delhi, but have parental land in Raipur. It came to our notice that the State Government is coming up with a New Caiptal City. We are keeping interest in the future of our state and following the developments.
We are very enthusiast and encouraged with the effort and like our state to progress and along will come development and employment opportunities. The state lacks basic infrastructure and white collar jobs. We would like the new city to develop on the lines of Gurgaon, which is coming up as preferred destination for MNC%u2019s for their offices and even the Delhi residents.
In regard to the proposed Development Plan of New Raipur, we the undersigned have objection to the same as the proposed Plan leave a very wide scope of dependence on the future CEO%u2019s of the authority.
We understand that with a right earnest you have proposed to develop the New Raipur Capital City under Public Private Partnership (PPP) Model for early execution of the Project. But your successor may or may not like this model and would like to go for development through Public Sector departments like PWD, CPWD etc. This will give the new city look of a large LIG Colony. Unwilling officers can delay the PPP model very easily by putting unfair conditions and delaying the tender process, which discourages the private investor.
We are confident of your capabilities, but your successor may or may not agree on the proposals.
Further you have mentioned that a large buffer & green zone is proposed on 80% of the land.
We would like to bring into your notice that Chhattisgarh is in itself a buffer and green zone. More than 50% of the State is forest area. Green is no doubt very good & its benefits are not disputed. But keeping this large area green will encourage Unauthorized construction and bribing of local officers. New Delhi, capital city of India is a rampant example of the same.
The proposed buffer zone already have residential, industrial & commercial Units working in it. It is not practically possible or feasible to demolish all of them. If they are allowed, then why their neigh-borers are deprived of the same liberty.
If the whole State & its people has facility to get their land use changed from agriculture to residential-industrial-commercial, then why the people of this patch be deprived of the opportunity. Change of land use is even allowed in the present Raipur city, where possibility of improving infrastructure is limited.
Why will they be allowed to do only agriculture on their on land, when they want to do other activities. This un-justifying clause will take the whole master plan in litigation.
For saving, the whole land, which is proposed as buffer & green zone should be acquired at today%u2019s market price and developed as City forest & Parks. Which we think will put a lot of pressure on the finances and is not feasible.
We propose that the Government should develop City forest as per urban development norms on its own land. Developing 20% lush green forest and park is more environmentally beneficial then keeping 80% area as rural agriculture zone, where water and other resources are exploited.
No World class city has 80% green or rural zone because they are not world class if they are so empty.
Our State needs White Collar Jobs and total dependency of providing world classs infrastructure like residential, commercial, IT Parks and others, on NRDA developed zone will be a too much of risk.
The land which is not under Planned area should be allowed development with certain FSI rules been followed by other developing cities like Gurgaon, Noida, Pune & Bangalore.
The authority should only do adequate planning of roads and providing infrastructure like roads, water, sewage disposal and treatment electricity and all on charges. Rest leave on market forces. The planning of roads should be done in whole of NRDA area, all the three zones on day one.
Leaving open green buffer zone of private land will only give rise to unauthorized construction, which will never be controlled.
Capital City of Delhi has more than 1500 unauthorized colonies on agriculture and government land, which at last the government is going to regularize, as it is not possible to displace 30 lac people. But now situation is such that not even minimal infrastructure is possible to build or provide in these colonies. Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is the main culprit of this mess. DDA didn%u2019t allowed (legitimately) any private colonies in Delhi. Didn%u2019t developed nor allowed to develop. DDA%u2019s more than 35 years report card is that it is able to construct only 5% as planned. It has followed self construction, PPP models & all possible. Now at last the New Master Plan of Delhi has allowed change of land use in agriculture land so that fast, legitimate development can happen.
Private development apart from the area developed by NRDA will give competition to the authority and they will have to act and compete. Shielding NRDA from private competition will nor help NRDA neither the public at large. It will make the authority autocratic, monopoly developer.
We hope our suggestions will help in development of NRDA which is a wonderful concept & it will attract local people to come back from other states and contribute in the Chhattisgarh economy.
Thanking you
Devraj Pandey & Himesh Gupta Village Baroda Raipur (Chhattisgarh)
