More institutions, proper lodging facilities for students: Delhi youths on master plan

New Delhi: Inadequate skill enhancement institutions and lack of affordable and proper lodging facilities for students are among the top concerns for the youth in Delhi, who have offered a slew of suggestions to urban authorities for the upcoming master plan.

Young citizens of Delhi aged 15-30 years and numbering about 450 expressed their viewpoints as part of an online consultative meeting 'Youth Sabha' organised by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), to take their inputs for the Delhi Master Plan 2041.

DDA officials on Saturday said the meeting was held on Thursday and two more Youth Sabha are lined up on October 1 and October 3, all three meetings on different themes. The theme for Thursday's meet was 'Delhi as a city of learning'.

"One of the primary concerns for most of the youth was the lack of institutions that could help them acquire gainful employment within Delhi. They are of the opinion that even if they do somehow educate themselves in reasonably good schools and colleges and perform to the best of their abilities, they do not necessarily get employed," the DDA said in a statement on Saturday.

They felt there was a need for "equitably distributed skill enhancement institutions" that would help them hone their employability skills and make them ready for the job market, officials said.

"The gap between job-seekers and actual available jobs is vast and some concrete steps need to be taken to bridge that gap, in order to prevent the youth from taking up anti-social activities to sustain themselves in the city," the statement said.

The lack of accessible educational institutions for some city residents is a matter of "grave concern", officials said.

Some of the youth rued there are no colleges for up to 10 km radius from their neighborhood. Metro and buses are not affordable for them on a daily basis, they said.

Another major issue raised by them on the online forum was of "lack of proper housing for students and other youth".

"They (youth) elaborated on how a good housing facility was unaffordable, and the ones that they could afford (near the institution) were plagued with anti-social elements," the statement said.

The meeting was attended by senior officers from DDA and NIUA, along with the facilitators from supporting organisations, PRIA and IGSSS, it said.

The objective of this consultation was to take the views of the youth of Delhi, so as to know what more can be provided, besides existing facilities to ensure quality education and living that is accessible to all, the urban body said.

Meanwhile, to engage the public and stakeholder groups in the formulation of the Master Plan of Delhi (MPD) 2041, a meeting has been slated for October 1 between DDA officials and representatives of market associations and traders bodies, officials said on Saturday.