Two years ago, South Delhi Municipal Corpo ration had carried out a special drive to remove encroachments on Hansraj Gupta Marg--the road outside M-block Market in GK-I. The drive was ordered by Delhi government's Public Griev ance Commission (PGC) following a complaint by residents of the area.
Today, hawkers, taxi stands and semi-permanent structures have all reappeared on the roadsides. There are no pavements on this road. And with vehicles parked haphazardly on both sides of the road, there is hardly any space left for pedestrians to walk on.
Although it is a notified residential road, "misinterpretation" of the master plan and some of the amendments has led to rampant commercialization of the colony, which still finds a mention in the list of Delhi's up scale areas. There are more than 35 guesthouses and an equal, or greater, number of shops on this 1.5-kilometre-long stretch.
With everything from street food vendors to juice shops, food takeaway joints, designer bou tiques, pathology labs, nursing homes and retail chains, it is a fully fledged com mercial street, irrespective of its status as per the Master Plan of Delhi-2007.
Guesthouses, commercial establishments and residents have turned the space meant for pavements into personal parking lots."It is a no-pedestrian zone. Locals have no option but to use their private vehicles, as one can't walk on this road. It is a wide road, why can't the civic agency construct pavements here? "said Rajesh, a retired government official who lives in the area.
Residents say they have made several representations before the civic agency and Delhi Development Authority asking for a ban on guesthouses in residential colonies.
"From an upscale residential colony, it is fast turning into Paharganj, which is completely commercialized. I can't understand why so many guesthouses are needed here? There should be a cap on the number of guesthouses in residential colonies,'' said Rajiv Kakria, member of GK-I RWA.
Residents blame the civic agency's lackadaisical attitude for the mess in the area.
"It is the civic agency's primary responsibility to ensure that pavements and government land are free of encroachment. When they have orders from the PGC to remove encroachment, why don't they enforce the law?
What's stopping them from removing encroachments from the main roads and pavements? Residents can't go again and again to the PGC for the same problem. If there is an order, it should be implemented,'' said Kakria.
While guesthouses and other commercial units use the space meant for pavements to park vehicles, some residents have converted pavements outside their houses into small lawns. As these green patches are barricaded with big pots and barbed wire, pedestrians have no access to the space. Some homeowners have constructed cabins for their security guards on the pavements.
"If they want to maintain a garden, they should do so inside their premises. These private security guards have no business to sit on public land. These cabins should be inside the premises. Unfortunately, the civic agency does nothing,'' said a resident, who didn't wish to be named.
Taxis have become another major problem. The opening of guesthouses has increased the demand for taxis. Taxi stands have come up on the main road and all the taxis are parked on both sides of the roads.
Commercialization has led to large-scale construction in the area. Construction material and waste lie on the street. Locals say the civic agency has not carried out any drive to remove encroachments in the past one year.
All this leads to traffic congestion throughout the day on this arterial road. It takes at least 2025 minutes to travel from one end of the road to the other.
As readers react to our ongoing series on Delhi's pavements, we share some of their thoughts
There is rampant encroachment of all the pavements, lanes and service roads in Dilshad Garden, northeast Delhi. I would request you to cover this area as well in the ongoing series -Hemant Bhatnagar I saw blatant misuse of foot paths for parking vehicles near government offices in Bhikaji Cama Place. Can't the government force all to park their vehicles in the parking lots that these buildings have?
Anil Mehta
Thank you for highlighting the state of civic mess in Delhi. I live in one of the subdued and approved plotted colonies in trans Yamuna that's surrounded by Laxmi Nagar and scores of slums. Please drive on the Pushta Road, going towards Gandhi Nagar. The existing walkway near Bank Enclave is used by inhabitants of the nearby slum to sleep at night. And during daytime, not more than 20 people use it to cross the Pushta Road. Still, another one is being built opposite Ramesh Park.
Last month, new signboards came up, supposedly to point out the various colonies which dot the landscape. However, one would have to look really hard to read the names, which stand dwarfed by the name of the local councillor. Crores spent on these two items, easily.
In contrast, the roads are broken, sewers overflow, pavements broken, parks dirty and littered. The entire stretch from Pushta Road to Bank Enclave is en croached by slum-dwellers, unauthorized religious structures, food vendors, typists catering to the nearby SDM office, car mechanics and building material suppliers who dump construction material at will. In between, residents do their bit by throwing household garbage on the roads and parking any which way .
Is it really so difficult to clean up and enforce civic sense? So it seems. The local police look the other way , EDMC has other priorities and no politician of repute would ever really visit this place. We have forgotten the name of the BJP MP who won from this place. He has never been here. And though we remember the name of the previous winner, it is not because he was outstanding, but because he was no different.
But, thank you indeed, for pointing out the merry state of misery and chaos which has become an integral part of our lives.
-M Chopra
A classic example of how even the widest of roads are rendered useless is Devli Road where I live. This is the worst road as far as squatters are concerned. All the footpaths here have been occupied by shops and hawkers. Once Devli Village had two DTC routes--423 and 581. But today , the government seems to be co-operating with encroachers as these routes have been discontinued, possibly for Gramin Sewa.
-Vaibhav Kumar Karan
'We need help in VK'
I am writing to you on behalf of Friends of Vasant Kunj Enclave, B-Block to seek your support in our fight against encroachments of service lanes and roads of our colony and rampant illegal and hazardous constructions done by the builder mafia. We are a group of concerned citizens i.e., residents, well-wishers and law abiding citizens and committed to lawful development of our colony-
-Vasant Kunj Enclave, B-Block.
We have been raising our voices against ongoing constructions of illegal, hazardous and unsafe buildings, and encroachments of service lanes and roads by the builder mafia.
We have written again and again to the LG, Delhi government, Delhi Police, South Delhi Municipal Corporation etc but nothing has happened.
-Abdul Mabood
'Mafia raj here'
I would like to bring to your notice a huge encroachment on Rani Jhansi Road.The encroached area is the roundabout opposite property no. 14, 15 and 16. The roundabout had a community garden. It has now been occupied by goons and local mafia who illegally run a dhaba, slaughter house, repair shops, jhuggis and even a small temple.They have been provided with proper electricity and cable connections. No action has been taken to remove this huge encroachment that's been there for the last 15 years because of which thefts have increased in the area.
-Friends of Delhi
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