Coronavirus unlock strategy: Efforts must be made to find out a uniform approach for whole NCR

After India's independence, Amrit Kaur became the first woman to hold Cabinet as the Minister of Health. While floating the idea of National Capital Region in 1956, she raised the issue of traffic jams and over-crowding in Delhi and also said that there is a need for a Regional Plan- a larger Delhi. She said if this idea becomes successful, it will be used as a prototype for the developing cities of our country and in Asia. The idea of greater Delhi was to create new alternatives and decentralisation within Delhi, decentralization to existing or new satellite towns, or even beyond into regional locations.

64 years down the line, greater Delhi or NCR is far from what was originally planned and the same is more evident during this pandemic. Delhi hospitals have now been made exclusive for the residents of Delhi only. Neighbouring districts like Gautam Buddh Nagar, Ghaziabad and Gurugram had been imposing travel restriction with little coordination between them. The bleak line of inter-state jurisdiction in the NCR has become more visible to residents during the period. E-passes were issued to move around the area even during an emergency or for essential purpose. It is important to dig into history to understand why a uniform approach is required to govern the whole NCR.

Delhi, the salad bowl of India, has been experiencing phenomenal population growth since 1951. One of the main causes for this spurt is migration into the city not only from the adjacent states but also from other far-flung states. The growth of the population of Delhi has contributed to many problems including increasing congestion and shortages of civic amenities. As Delhi grows, its problems of land, housing, transportation and management of essential infrastructures like water supply and sewerage would become more acute. Being the capital and primed with opportunities, exodus into the city has resulted in overcrowding of the capital. Thus the idea of a greater Delhi with all-round development of the adjoining region with harmonised policies among neighbouring States was proposed. In line with the objective and in concurrence with the participating States of Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, National Capital Region Planning Board Act was passed in 1985 by the Union Parliament and NCR Planning Board was constituted.

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National Capital Region (NCR) is a unique example of inter-state regional planning and development, covering the entire National Capital Territory of Delhi, thirteen districts of State of Haryana, eight districts of State of Uttar Pradesh and two districts of State of Rajasthan, with the Nation Capital as its core. The National Capital Region (NCR) in India was constituted with the key rationale to promote balanced and harmonized development of the Region, and to avoid any haphazard development. The idea was of a central region, regardless of different state governments involved, to focus on transport, telecommunications, power and water supply, waste and sewerage, education, health, environment and housing.

But during the pandemic, the state governments in NCR region have been imposing restrictions detrimental for residents of NCR. Delhi government has made its COVID-19 health care, private or public, exclusive for a bonafide resident of Delhi only. The legality of this order has been challenged in the court of law, as it prima face seems discriminatory against all citizen of the country. However, NCR residents will bear the major brunt of this decision as for all practical purpose they consider themselves residents of Delhi per se. Many residents of NCR, do business and trade in Delhi and pay commercial taxes in Delhi but they will be denied the health facilities. The salaried classes living in NCR have empanelled hospitals in Delhi, but would be denied services of the hospitals. Also under Article 19(1) (e) of the Constitution of India, every citizen has fundamental right to reside and settle in any part of the territory of India.

In 2018 a similar order was passed by Delhi government which was challenged in Delhi High Court, where it was held that such classification of “similarly situated” class of patients on the basis of residents and non-residents is violative of Article 14. To some relief Lt Governor of Delhi has overruled the cabinet decision of Delhi government of “resident only” health care.

The Supreme Court also came to rescue for the resident of NCR as it asked all the state government in the NCR to formulate coordinated and uniform approach regarding the movement of citizen in the region. The Court agreed that people are suffering due to contradictory of UP, Delhi and Haryana and one consolidated policy was need to govern movement across NCR.

Even though the government of India has issued guidelines that travel throughout country will be permitted during the pandemic; however, since the district authorities have been empowered to make the final call, the order passed by the Supreme Court has much significance. The continual experimentation by
the authorities in NCR is not funny anymore! On days you find daily commuters part of huge traffic jams blocked either from entering or leaving Delhi as adjoining districts impose restrictions anytime without any notice.

To state bluntly, the ordinary citizen has little interest in a complex inter-state relationship. Hence, it is suggested efforts must be made to find out a uniform approach for whole NCR.

As once Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib remarked – ‘I asked my soul: What is Delhi? She replied: The world is the body and Delhi its life’. In 2020 it can be safely said that whole of the NCR is the life of Delhi.

(The article is co-authored by Tanvi Saran Srivastava. She is Law Officer in MSTC Ltd, CPSU.)

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)