MPD 2041: Housing developments must consider women workforce, say residents
New Delhi: The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) conducted its second webinar on the Master Plan of Delhi-2041 (MPD-41) on Tuesday city residents asked authorities to consider the safety and participation of women workforce while deciding housing developments.
In this webinar, issues related to Chapter 7 to 12, that is, Shelter and Social Infrastructure and Transport and Mobility were presented to 190 participants which included the general public, senior DDA National Institute for Urban Affairs (NIUA) officials.
One of the main suggestions by Delhi residents upon hearing the details of MPD-41, which is to be a GIS-based plan, was that the policy-making related to housing developments and its implementation should reflect the participation of women, especially a large majority who are part of the city's workforce, whether in the organised or unorganised sector.
These provisions should especially reflect in the MPD-41's policies on rental and affordable housing, participants said. To ensure safety and better accessibility for the city's workers, especially women, last-mile connectivity of public transport was another important suggestion that policy-makers were asked to focus on by promoting more Intermediate Public Transport (IPT) modes.
As for the city's large homeless population, suggestions were made for mandatory, better and more detailed facilities and entitlements such as night shelters, and addressing the housing backlog. Participants also said that land requirements for additional housing need to be mentioned, including development of rental housing.
Post a deadly second wave of COVID-19 infections in the city, and predictions for a fast-approaching third wave, one important highlight of the suggestions received from city residents were related to establishing healthcare infrastructure to cater to the 'extreme pandemic situation', DDA said.
Moving on to transport and mobility, participants said that measures for decarbonisation must be provided in the mobility sector for MPD, and stressed upon the requirement of alternate roads to bring down the traffic load on the main arterial roads.
Another important suggestion was that urban extension road (UER) linked with metro or BRT services needs to be provided with preferably zero setback as it enables safe streets for women and children. Notably, participants suggested that the existing road network should be included in the redevelopment plans.
The next webinar will be organised on July 13 and will cover chapters 13 to 18, related to Physical Infrastructure, and Spatial Development Framework of Draft MPD-2041.
