BY altering the Detailed Area Plan (DAP) of the capital, a cabinet committee meeting headed by the housing minister on Wednesday has given the go-ahead to a number of housing schemes run by powerful real estate agents. But the High Gourt in June 2011 had declared some of these projects illegal and ordered the government to scrap those.

It may be noted that 35 per cent of the DAP with an area of 1528 square kilometers was earmarked for residential quarters. So, the housing projects in question could be accommodated within DAP, had the government given consideration to full utilization. From that point of view, the alteration made to DAP by a review committee and, that too, to please beneficiaries in the army, the administration, some institutions and some developers was unnecessary and arbitrary.

This will come at a huge cost to the city's natural environment and members of the public whose lands fall within these projects.

The housing minister's admission that he gave nod to the army and admin officials-owned housing schemes in flood flow zones as those had already been 'developed and built' is unabashed. We are also flabbergasted by his remark that he would entertain any other housing projects by real estate developers on the city's wetlands and flood flow zones , if only they keep provision for sewer and drainage. These mark his total disregard for the city's environmental health.