Nath dubs DDA as archaic, says needs to be restructured

Slamming the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for failing to address emerging issues, Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath today said the land owning agency has become archaic and needs to reinvent and restructure itself to cater to the changing times.
Nath also asked the Delhi Urban Arts Commission to look into its mandate as sometimes it goes "over the line".
"DDA needs to be restructured. It was set up in late 60s for different reasons. It was to build housing in Vasant Kunj and all those areas. Then it assumed the role of regulatory body. It laid down regulations which are administered by MCD. This is the only city which has Authority and MCD," Nath said at a real estate conclave here.

The DDA functions under the Urban Development Ministry.
"DDA needs to reinvent itself. DUAC also needs to look into its mandate. DUAC has several times gone beyond its boundary. But all these have become very archaic which needs to reinvent in the context of urbanisation and the challenges of urbanisation today," Nath said.
Blaming the system of multiple authorities, Nath said: "There is a problem in addressing urban issues. It was not looked in the past the way it should have been. In Delhi, we have DDA, Delhi Urban Arts Commission, MCD then we have Urban Development Ministry. There is a lot of overlapping. In DDA they have management group, planning group and all sorts of groups."

He said there are structural problems which needs to be changed as "urban infrastructure is always need based."

Asked whether government should be in the business of housing construction, he said "government should not be in the business of building houses except constructing for economic weaker section. DDA should compete with private sector."
Taking on the city planners, the Urban Development Minister said planners are oblivious of ground realities.
"Planning should be married with the needs," he said.
Nath said there will soon be a new policy for FDI in the construction sector.
"We are going to revise the policy for FDI in construction to attract investments," he said.

On the possible election outcome in Madhya Pradesh, the Chindwara Congress MP said, "we have fair chance of winning."
Criticising opinion polls and the way they were being conducted, Nath said: "Conducting opinion polls is a new fashion of campaigning. In 2004 and also in 2009, results were different than the opinion polls," he said.