Protest plan on Master Plan issue

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, NOV. 23.

The Delhi Chief Minister, Ms. Sheila Dixit, declared today that her Government would not sit and watch the situation and if the need arises the elected representatives would hit the streets to protest against the failure of the Central Government to amend the Master Plan of Delhi. The livelihood of lakhs of workers was more important than the Master Plan, she asserted.

Responding to the discussion on the closure of industries issue in the House, Ms. Dixit announced, to the thumping of the desks, that her Government and the Congress would not allow the closure of industries in residential areas at any cost. Lakhs of people and workers connected with these industries would not be allowed to be displaced. The voice of the Delhi Government was the voice of the people and the Centre should hear it loud and clear.

Making a passionate appeal to the Centre and the Union Urban Development Minister, Mr. Jagmohan, in particular, she said the Centre should understand the ground realities and the sentiments of lakhs of people. ``Rome was not built in a day,'' she declared. It will take time to set right what has gone wrong over the years. The Centre should move immediately towards making amendments in the Master Plan.

Taking Mr. Jagmohan to task, she said while the Urban Development Minister had been advocating the idea of good health to the urban citizens, he was dumping all the polluting industries in the rural areas. ``Is the health of the people in rural Delhi not important. Will this not mean destroying the green rural belt and violating the Master Plan. Will these industries not create havoc in rural Delhi. Has Mr. Jagmohan given a thought?'' she asked.

Terming the stand of Mr. Jagmohan as unfortunate, she blamed the BJP for playing politics on the issue of closure of industries. The ultimate motive was to show the Delhi Government in poor light and hold it responsible for the chaos in the city and, in turn, save its own Minister and Government at the Centre.

Ms. Dixit said the nodal agency set up under Mr. Jagmohan for overseeing the relocation of industries has held two meetings but has not taken into consideration the proposal put forward by the Delhi Government representatives. ``The truth is that it was the BJP dominated MCD which triggered off panic in the city by cancelling nearly 68,000 ad hoc industrial licenses and sending its personnel to seal all units in residential areas'', she remarked.

Coming down heavily on the Leader of the Opposition, Prof. Jagdish Mukhi, for spreading rumours on the closure of industries, Ms. Dixit said that Prof. Mukhi had called her up and informed about closing of certain atta chakki units. But when she sought details, the BJP leader failed to provide the same and never got back. ``These BJP leaders spread rumours in a planned manner and there was a conspiracy to defame the Congress(I) Government. But after I took up the matter with the Lt-Governor, Mr. Vijai Kapoor, things were sorted out and the BJP failed in its purpose,'' she asserted.

Ms. Dixit lamented that Mr. Jagmohan was trying to shift blame on the Delhi Government all the time. The Bawana Industrial Estate can provide for relocation of only 16,000 industries. No effort has been made to expedite acquisition of land for other industries. Land is not available for such a big exercise. The Centre, under whom the land subject comes, is not interested or serious about shifting of industries but only wants to close them down, she added.

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