Privatise DDA & MCD, says CAIT

Amid sealing of shops in certain areas of the national capital, traders' body CAIT today said the performance of DDA as well as MCD has been dismal and they have failed to ensure structured development of the city in the last 60 years and there is a need to privatise both the organisations. Handing them over to professional agencies for carrying out responsibilities in a time bound manner would enhance efficiency of these two institutions, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said in a statement. Failure of Delhi Development Authority (DDA) as a planner and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) as an implementing agency has created a havoc for Delhi traders who are facing the brunt of sealings for no fault or failure of theirs, it said. Deliberative wing of MCD should remain as it is, while the executive wing should be handed over to private agencies, it said, adding that the DDA should be privatised completely. The first Master Plan was released in 1962 and its several provisions were never adhered to, it said. The second Master Plan which was supposed to be released in year 1980 was released 10 years later in 1990 and large number of development plans under it could not see light of the day, it added. The third Master Plan which was scheduled to be released in 2001 was finally released in the year 2007 and like two previous one, the MCD and other agencies which were assigned different responsibilities utterly failed to put various plans into action, it said.