NEW DELHI: Beware of unauthorised construction in the historic walled city of Delhi. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) is closely monitoring every single building, road and lane of the area.
The Union Ministry of Science and Technology has introduced a three-dimensional Geographical Information System (GIS) as a pilot project in the area surrounding the old quarters of Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk.
Five cameras, with a surveillance range of five kilometers each, have been installed at critical points to check the mushrooming of the rampant illegal construction in this already cluttered area. Five more cameras would be installed shortly, following which the project would be introduced in other parts of the city.
MCD officials claim that the satellite-based database would “for the first time in India help in assessing, in real time, the unremitting monitoring of all construction activity in the area.”
“The GIS would point out any changes in the buildings or properties in the respective areas. After mapping the area, a satellite database would be created, having a 3-D model of the nearly 12,000 buildings, which would be analysed for making a redevelopment plan for the area,” said MCD Deputy Commissioner (City Zone) Vijay Singh.
This system, according to Singh, will generate proof that cannot be tampered with. It will ensure that senior officials are on their toes and cannot feign ignorance for any knowledge of new illegal construction in the area, he said.
“The GIS, which is also a part of the Delhi Master Plan, can be used to rein in property tax defaulters into the tax net, check water, gas and electricity wastage, traffic management and even monitor infrastructure development for the Commonwealth Games 2010,” believes Delhi Mayor Arti Mehra.
y_puneet@dnaindia.net
