New Delhi: Stressing for regulations which are less "complicated", Union Minister Kamal Nath on Thursday said the New Delhi Master Plan will be made user-friendly and futuristic for the benefit of the common man.

"If we are making a Master Plan for the people, it should be a Master Plan which any common man can understand. I have no hesitation in saying this that we cannot have such a provision in the Master Plan which I don`t understand, I don`t know how other people will understand but I have had three people explaining to me, it’s so complicated," the Urban Development minister said.
Nath shared these views while he was speaking to people about the ongoing review of the Master Plan for Delhi-2021 at an event organised by PHDCCI. "....And fifty pages later there us a provision which undoes that (earlier provision). It’s not user friendly. Non user friendly language and provisions will only perpetuate inspector raj," he added.
The minister also said that Floor Area Ratio (FAR) laws should be re-looked at to meet the growing needs of the city.
Nath said that he had spoken to civic officials of New York about how they managed to build multi-storey buildings.
"They said FAR is not just a question of economy, it is linked to development," he said referring to his conversations with the American officials.
Nath said that the American officials told him that they allowed higher FAR if people were building an amenity which would benefit many and consequently develop the city further.
"If New York can have high rises, why can`t we?", Nath, who had advocated vertical development for Delhi in the past, asked. He, however, added that practical aspects have to be looked into.
Speaking about the current review process of the Master Plan for Delhi, Nath said that the planning process should take into account not just the past or present but also the future.
"Our infrastructure has not catered to the older parts of Delhi, it has not catered to the growth which we`ve had. It has exceeded its carrying capacity whether its sewage, roads, parking...," he said.
"Our ministry`s efforts, the DDA`s efforts are to ensure that this revision is futuristic." Nath added.
Nath said that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had received 1,900 suggestions from individuals, RWA`s and other organisations for the review of Master Plan for Delhi-2021, and that these had been put up on the website of the civic agency.
An apex committee, chaired by the Lieutenant General of Delhi, with Secretary, Urban Development, Chief Secretary of the Delhi government and the Vice-Chairperson of the DDA and Delhi Chief Secretary as members, would examine these suggestions before the Ministry reviews them, he said.
Apart from the apex committee, eleven management groups had also been formed to look into the various aspects of the Master Plan review, Nath said.
Planning for a city can only be done keeping in mind the ground realities, the minister said.
"Now Delhi cannot be an industrial city. We cannot have car manufacturing or steel manufacturing plants in Delhi. Delhi can only have basic industry," Nath said, referring to the national capital.
PTI