New Delhi, January 20
Windfall is on way for over 3,600 farmhouses in the Capital with the Urban Development Ministry and the DDA all set to change the land use rules to allow commercial activity on the land which is primarily meant for farming.

While some of the farmhouses, already flouting the building byelaws, still run commercial activity like lending these for marriages or running hotels and motels, the proposed amendments to the Master Plan Delhi (MPD) 2021 would give the farmhouse owners the opportunity to carry out commercial activity with impunity.

The proposed amendments to the MPD 2021, which the ministry and the DDA seem to be in a hurry to bring, would not only have a major impact on the infrastructure surrounding the farmhouses, but would make the lives of the people travelling through adjoining roads miserable.

With no scope for expansion, the roads adjoining the farmhouses are already choked during the peak traffic hours. And during the marriage season, the roads are so chock-a-block. Traversing a distance of just three-four kms takes two-three hours.

As per the proposed amendments, marriage functions, socio-cultural activities, sanatoriums, recreational activities like amusement parks would be allowed subject to conditions that a minimum of 50 per cent of the plot area be left for soft parking, 25 per cent for landscaping and the maximum of 25 per cent for functions and building purposes.

This would not only result in complete commercialisation of the farmhouses without any agricultural purposes, for which they are meant, but would also allow the present structures to be regularised.

For those not wanting any commercial activity on their farmhouse, the proposed amendment is that the maximum floor area can be up to 2000 sq meters built up area with the maximum coverage on the total plot up to 10 per cent, green area of 60 per cent and the rest 30 per cent soft parking.

A survey carried out by the civic authorities had brought out that only 396 (14.5 per cent) farmhouses were in accordance with the permissible limits as laid down in the MPD 2001 and the rest 85.5 per cent of the farmhouses had been built in gross violation of the existing laws.

As per the MPD 1962, a maximum coverage of 500 sq feet of farm dwelling units was provided in the plot size of one to three acres and 1500 sq feet for three acres of plot. But they had to be single storey buildings with permissible height of 20 feet.

However, the same was amended in the MPD 2001 and the size of the dwelling was raised to 100 sq meters and 150 sq meters, respectively, for the above mentioned plots sizes.

Incidentally, in just about a year after the MPD 2021 was brought by the government, there have already been more than 40 amendments indicating that it had no sanctity.

This would be disastrous on the sanitation and hygiene fronts as the existing infrastructure is not adequate to cater to such commercial activities and would degenerate the environment. Reports, in the meantime suggest that the Municipal Committee Delhi (MCD) has drawn up a list of farmhouses in the city which were indulging in such illegal commercial activities and would be seeking tax from them.