The Delhi urban arts commission (DUAC) has come to the rescue of the NGOs against the Delhi transport corporation's (DTC) Millennium Park bus depot in the Yamuna river bed. In the minutes of a meeting of the DUAC on November 10, it has been mentioned that the river bed should be restored to its original form. 

‘Since it was built as a temporary facility for the Commonwealth Games, the Yamuna river bed should be restored to its original form and the existing structures and hard top road surfaces should be demolished and removed immediately. All ongoing construction and use must be stopped immediately’, the minutes of the meeting state. The document also states that a site visit to the bus depot was made by DUAC members on November 3. 

The Delhi government had claimed that the bus depot would remain operational, much to the displeasure of various green NGOs.

DUAC has said that drawings of the depot submitted by an executive engineer in the public workd department (PWD) were taken on record for this exercise. ‘The proposal has never been referred to the commission for its approval though it is mandatory under the section-11 of the DUAC Act, and is therefore violation of the DUAC Act,’ the document says. 

Another important point raised by the DUAC states that the zonal plan of Zone-O does not permit any such facility area and the proposal violates the zonal plan provisions. It also says that the commission will write to the Delhi development authority (DDA) immediately regarding this. 

The commission, while examining the Delhi metro rail corporation (DMRC) staff quarters near Yamuna Bank metro station, has said the two multi-storey building structures are at an advanced stage of construction. It says that though the proposal was given conceptual approval by the commission at its meeting on December 19, 2007, the proposal has never been received through the local body for formal consideration of the commission. It also says that the zonal plan does not show any such site for housing.

DUAC, has therefore, decided to ask for clarification about the proposal from DDA as well as DMRC regarding the construction of housing blocks. It has also decided that DMRC should stop further construction activity of the proposal.