Bhaskar Bureau, Bhopal. Congress State President Jitu Patwari has held the government and the Municipal Corporation responsible for the commercial activities being conducted in the residential areas of Bhopal. Patwari wrote a letter to the Chief Minister saying that Bhopal is today facing such an urban crisis, the responsibility of which cannot be put only on the traders or residents. Following the recent instructions of the Supreme Court, the Municipal Corporation is taking action against the commercial activities conducted in residential areas. The corporation issued around 1800 notices.
The livelihood of thousands of families, small businesses and age-old arrangements of residents are being affected by this. Patwari said the basic question is, who brought Bhopal to this situation. It is convenient for the government to say that traders violating the rules are guilty, but what is the responsibility of the government and town planning institutions. If shops, offices, clinics, restaurants or other commercial activities have been running in a residential area for years and they have been receiving taxes, licenses or other permissions from the Municipal Corporation, then it cannot be justified to suddenly put the entire responsibility on the citizens today.
After 1975, only two development plans of Bhopal, 1991 and 2005, were approved. The 2005 plan is still in effect today. The draft of Bhopal Development Plan-2031 was returned by the government in February 2024 and its revised draft was not presented till December 2025. The current urban needs of Bhopal are being managed on the basis of almost two decade old development plan. This is an injustice to the future generations of the city. The urban population of Bhopal was approximately 19.17 lakh in the 2011 census itself.
Today the expansion of the city, traffic, employment, housing, education, health and commercial activities have increased much more than at that time. BJP, which has been in power for two decades, does not have an updated and implemented master plan for Bhopal, which raises questions. There is no doubt that the order of the Supreme Court should be followed, but following the order of the court and resolving the planning failure of the government are two different subjects. The government should now take steps instead of limiting itself to only sealing and survey actions.
Congress demands and suggestions
Make Bhopal Development Plan 2031 public immediately.
There should be a scientific survey of existing use.
Policy should be made for legitimate taxpayer businesses operating for years
Scientific policy of mixed land use should be made
New commercial zones should be developed for small traders
The rights of residents should also be protected
Integrated Bhopal Urban Planning Authority should be considered
Hold public hearings for citizens and businesses
Real problems should be recorded by holding open public hearings in every affected area of Bhopal.
Time bound review of master plan should be made mandatory
In future, the system of keeping any development plan pending for 20 years should be abolished. There should be a statutory provision for its review and necessary amendments every 5 years.
Government should issue white paper