Black Walls, Last Painted Before CWG: Traders Demand Fresh White Coat for Connaught Place Buildings

Connaught Place traders have sought the intervention of Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena to get the heritage and landmark buildings in the area a fresh coat of paint, noting that the iconic white structures have turned black. The iconic shopping destination nestled in the heart of the capital, was last painted 12 years ago, according to New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA).

In a tweet to LG V K Saxena, NDTA said, “White CP Buildings need fresh painting to keep shining, last painted 12 years back, we are not allowed to paint ourselves, have requested chairman @tweetndmc to get CP facades painted or allow us at least, SIR PLS HELP #WHITECP.”

NDTA executive committee member Amit Gupta said the world-famous shopping centre beloved by Delhiites, people from other parts of India and foreigners was last painted ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

“We have been urging the New Delhi Municipal Council to paint these heritage buildings that were last painted on the occasion of Commonwealth Games 2010. But we have not got any answer from them,” Gupta told PTI.

Master Plan of Delhi-2041

Conservation efforts including upgrading the heritage structures in and around Connaught Place had been part of the Delhi government’s plans. According to the draft Master Plan of Delhi-2041 (MPD-2041) prepared by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), a ’24-hour city’, fostering night-time economy (NTE) and revitalising the national capital’s commercial core including Connaught Place, were some of its major focus areas.

Delhi’s areas such as Connaught Place and its extension, commercial areas in the Shahajanabad (Walled City) and Karol Bagh are characterised by their heritage and landmark buildings. Connaught Place, built in 1930, has historically been a central business district and hub of commercial offices, hospitality, entertainment, retail and business activities. “An area-based improvement approach will be adopted for revitalising the commercial core of the city,” it promised.

For heritage buildings, an integrated improvement plan was tabled to upgrade the historic structures and public realm while maintaining the existing layout plan without any sub-division.

In the old Delhi region near Connaught Place, Shahjahanabad (Walled City) has been labelled as a heritage zone due to the high concentration of vintage buildings. “Wholesale activities will be shifted and cultural, retail activities will be promoted in the area. Areas outside the walled city include Paharganj, Sadar Bazaar, Azad Market, Bara Hindu Rao for which a regeneration plan will be prepared for these areas,” the plan stated.

The Master Plan also envisaged the concept of a ’24-hour city’ promoted through the Model Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2015 as well as the night-time economy (NTE) policy.

While the plan was put in the public domain in June 2021, DDA had to extend the last date for comments to end-August, after several requests, citing the Covid-19 pandemic and consequent restrictions.

The Master Plan will now be expected to be notified by April next year, DDA told the Supreme Court in September. While the authority did not specify a specific date, it noted that the final Master Plan would be published on or before April 30, 2023. It was delayed as the DDA is mulling key policies such as the Green Development Area (GDA) policy, and incorporating the suggestions/objections received from the public on the draft plan.

Peepul Growth Removal

Meanwhile, the New Delhi Traders Association has begun work to remove plant growth on the parapets of the buildings that weaken the structure. The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), however, said that buildings in Connaught Place are privately owned and the owners may get them painted keeping in mind the uniformity and norms laid down by the government.

The NDMC had in June announced the launch of the “Mission Peepal” initiative under which unwanted trees and branches will be removed from the heritage buildings at the outer and inner circles of Connaught Place.

The initiative was named “Mission Peepal” as most of the unwanted plants that grow on building walls are “peepal”. Indigenous tree species such as neem, peepal, pilkhan, jamun, arjun, khirni and imli were planted in the NDMC area when British architect Edwin Landseer Lutyens was entrusted with the task to plan New Delhi in 1911.

(With inputs from PTI)

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