Jama Masjid plan gets nod

NEW DELHI: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) can now breathe easy. After four failed attempts, the civic agency finally managed to get the nod from Delhi Urban Art Commission (DUAC) for their controversial Jama Masjid redevelopment plan. Much of their original plan which boasted of underground parkings and a heritage mall has been done away with as both DUAC and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) insisted on minimum intervention in the sensitive zone to preserve its historical glory.
MCD is yet to get a feasibility study done by IITD in the Jama Masjid area according to Delhi High Court orders."At present, only the master plan for Jama Masjid redevelopment has been approved by DUAC. Individual projects pertaining to Meena Bazar, landscaping of the area, etc, will have to be sent to DUAC for approval again. To begin work tenders can only be floated after we receive the DUAC minutes formally,'' said a senior MCD official.
DUAC chairman KT Ravindran said they have given MCD overall approval for the layout plan as the civic agency had finally come around to adopt the `minimum intervention' idea. "The agency has agreed to do away with underground parkings. We have approved the overall plan based on the condition that they come back to us to get separate clearances for each component of the plan. This is an important public space and we have also asked MCD to integrate their redevelopment plan with ASI's conservation plans for Red Fort,'' said Ravindran.
ASI has also laid down three conditions while giving MCD the go-ahead. "We have stipulated that no parking should be made in the area, there should be more facilities for the common man and lastly, the overall development work in Jama Masjid should coincide with our conservation plans for Red Fort. This is a heritage area and needs to be maintained,'' said a senior ASI official.
According to DUAC's directions, the market/shops around Dargah Sheikh Kalimullah should be single-storey structures built at the level of the ground around Meena Bazar to avoid any obstruction of the visual field between Red Fort and Jama Masjid precinct. "The proposal discussed needs to be vetted by ASI by taking cognizance of the Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan (CCMP) of the world heritage site of Red Fort and Sunheri Masjid,'' said an official.
DUAC has recommended that the dome-like structure proposed at Meena Bazar should be removed and the service utility duct proposed across the Jama Masjid precinct be shifted to Subhas Marg. "Fire station and related facilities must be the part of the proposal,'' said an official.
The entrance to the bus bay should be minimum 75m from the intersection of two roads,'' added DUAC officials.
Earlier, both DUAC and ASI had expressed reservations about the project and warned MCD that Jama Masjid area now comes under the buffer zone of the world heritage site Red Fort and therefore, no major changes can take place to disturb the area's historical significance. In addition, ASI told MCD that two centrally-protected monuments Red Fort and Sunehri Masjid fall within the redevelopment plans and no construction or mining work would be allowed under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
The earlier redevelopment plan was attacked by experts from many fields since it talked about making vast changes in the area including underground parkings and multi-storeyed shopping complexes. They had claimed the original plan was not only `anti-heritage' but also drew the risk of putting the Mughal citadel, Red Fort, on the list of `world heritage in danger' citing the example of Hampi, where a construction bridge led to the site being labelled as endangered for several years.