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Mukherjee Nagar: Civil dreams to civic nightmare

Mukherjee Nagar has nurtured India’s aspiring bureaucrats. But the mushrooming of illegal coaching centres and PG accommodations has triggered a crisis. The HC’s whip brings relief to residents, but students stare at an uncertain future

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Precariously hanging wires, tilted electric poles, dilapidated buildings, congested streets, dingy lanes, filth and encroachments — this is today’s Mukherjee Nagar. The famed North Delhi neighbourhood, known for students preparing for various competitive exams, particularly the civil services, to become the “steel frame of India’s government machinery”, is in a complete mess.

Many of the five lakh starry-eyed aspirants who come from every nook and corner of the country live here in deplorable conditions. They study at 400-odd big and small coaching centres, most of them housed in residential buildings in violation of Delhi’s Master Plan. Outside, the walls are pasted with flyers. Sidewalks are choked with study material. There are hoardings and pictures of “success coaches.”

“The fee for one aspiring bureaucrat can be as high as Rs 2 lakh. It’s a multi-crore-rupee industry,” says a student. Most want to crack the three-stage, gruelling exam conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

That the success rate is a meagre 0.3 per cent — one’s chance of becoming an IAS officer is as low as 0.04 per cent — does not deter them. Aspiring bureaucrats go through months of intensive cramming for “the white Ambassador car and the lal-batti.” 

Angry residents

The 400-acre coaching mecca has also become a nightmare for residents. Many illegal institutes have led to a string of problems such as poor sanitation, water and electricity shortages, and lax security, to name a few. About 90 per cent houses have been converted into paying guest (PG) accommodations, both for girls and boys, residents say. Many actual owners have either sold their properties or given them on contract to those who run these commercial centres — 300 students on each floor — in what is primarily a residential area. Each PG unit that also provides food costs Rs 8,000- Rs 10,000 per candidate. 

“The place is overcrowded. We cannot even step out because of obscene comments from students,” says Shweta Chopra, a resident. Locals complain that they are in constant fear of boys who consume alcohol in broad daylight in parks. Some of these boys live there. Others come from adjoining areas such as Wazirabad, Indira Vikas Colony, and Gopalpur village.

Petty criminals also pose as students and look for preys. Cases of car theft, chain snatching and harassment are rampant, residents say. Streets in front of the coaching centres are occupied by two-wheelers of students and teachers, and there is hardly any space for normal traffic to move.

Naveen Chopra, vice president of Happy Family Resident Welfare Association (RWA), says “illegal PG units” are guzzling electricity and water, leaving little for original inhabitants. “We have to call for water tankers. There are power cuts — for minimum two hours and seven hours during peak summer days,” says Chopra, pointing to illegally tapped power connections through wires that look like they would snap any moment. Most streetlights do not work. An agitated senior citizen, BK Chaudhary, says he has filed several complaints about an electricity pole, which may fall anytime, but no action has been taken. Chaudhary is a member of Mukherjee Nagar Niwasi Manch, another RWA.    

Drains are clogged in the over-populated area. Even the structural safety of the buildings has been compromised as the number of occupants far exceed their carrying capacity. Residents complain that “girls and boys create nuisance in the open and vitiate the atmosphere.” Students ring doorbells and run away, residents allege. “You cannot tell them anything because they would then gather a group and threaten or beat us. Security guards do not help because groups would also beat them,” says Sanjeev Sangam, a member of the RWA.

Complaints unheeded 

No action has been taken either by the municipal corporations or the police. “We cannot sleep in peace because of the loudspeakers used for lectures. I have been facing problems because my house is on the second floor. The first and the third floor are PG units, for girls and boys, respectively,” says a resident who does not wish to be named.

A DNA team saw unruly scenes by stunt bikers who take over streets for risky thrills in residential pockets. “I am a retired person and survive on the rent from a PG unit. But because of the nuisance and the kind of clothes that girls wear here, and other such activities, I want all these illegal PG units shut immediately,” says PC Jham, a member of Mukherjee Nagar East RWA.

Disaster in making

It’s 4:30 pm. A gush of students, carrying books, comes out. While some aspiring civil servants giggle, others discuss how an arithmetic problem could have been solved in an easier way. This is the iconic Batra Cinema, a little away from Mukherjee Nagar’s residential pockets, with potential disasters written all over it. The building houses more than 20 coaching centres. Over a 1,000 students come for classes at the same time on one floor with just a single entrance and exit.  

The single-screen theatre was shut last year, after three decades of operations, following some irregularities, which were detected. It was then let out to coaching centres. There are cars parked in front of the entrance. Towards late afternoon, illegal hawkers start setting up shops, making the passage even narrower. It was alleged that the building was supposed to have just one floor for coaching centres. However, gradually, the entire building has been converted into shops, promising to churn out future babus. 

This reporter posed as a student and went in. The old staircase was weary. Huge electricity meter boxes and hanging wires looked frightening. On the second floor, students were eagerly waiting for classes to get over. Further inside a dimly lit room over a 100 students were studying. Three-four classes — each with 300 students — run simultaneously. In case of fire, there will be a disaster. Classes are held even in the basement meant for parking.

The gradual decline  

The area was once known as the “Best Green, Clean & Peaceful Residential Colony” with planned pockets, clean roads, water and electricity supplies for 24 hours, and a park in front of almost every house. The population of the area, which is supposed to be 40,000, actually runs into lakhs with the influx of students. 

After India’s partition, thousands of refugees came to Delhi and were rehabilitated in resettlement colonies of Kingsway Camp (now Mukherjee Nagar named after Syama Prasad Mukherjee) comprising Hudson Lane, Outram Lane and Reeds Lane. Initially, the refugees moved into tents and Army barracks. After a few years, those living in tents got small quarters covered with asbestos sheets. People in Army barracks were allotted land parcels in Bhai Parmanand Colony/Indra Vihar Colony near Mukherjee Nagar. For those in quarters, there was a draw of lots for allotment of plots. There are about 2,700 plots in Mukherjee Nagar, Outram Lane and Hudson Lane.

Initially, Mukherjee Nagar was developed by municipal authorities. The area only had vacant fields where farming was done. So people started building houses. Later, Outram Lane and Hudson Lane were developed. In 1980, municipal authorities handed over the colonies to Delhi Development Authority which allowed conversion of land plots from leasehold to freehold with charges and certain conditions.

The main Batra Rod from Hakikat Nagar Mor to Mukherjee Nagar Bandh has been declared an area of mix-land use where many coaching institutes are operating. Mixed land use areas can have non-residential activities in residential pockets. The policy aims to balance the socio-economic needs and reduce the need for commuting across zones in the city. “However, at the same time, it needs to be regulated in order to manage and mitigate adverse impacts of congestion, increased traffic and increased pressure on civic amenities,” admits a government official.

High Court battle 

The fight to improve Mukherjee Nagar’s conditions has reached the Delhi High Court (HC). Social worker Kanchan Gupta has filed a PIL and highlighted people’s suffering.  The petition filed by advocates Sameer Mehndiratta and Pramod Kumar Singhal says that buildings have developed cracks but owners have not really acted. The court recently came down heavily on coaching centres, asking them to move out of residential areas within a time frame. “What kind of education and value are you imparting to students by running coaching centres in a residential area?” asked the court, even suggesting the institutes to move to outer Delhi areas or in steatite towns outside the national capital. 

The court has directed the North Delhi Municipal Corporation to submit a sketch of the area showing the locations of coaching centres and property numbers. “The Corporation shall inspect the properties and indicate usages… It shall also inform this court on garbage generation and disposal on account of mixed land usage,” the court had said. The court has also directed the Delhi Jal Board to file a status report on water availability and sewage disposal system and coaching centres’ impact on them.

The Advertising Standards Council of India has also pulled up many institutes several times for unsubstantiated claims of success and violation of advertising guidelines. Recently, after the orders of the Delhi HC, many centres removed their posters from buildings. But most classes continue to run there.

Action and worries

Recently, municipal authorities sealed 32 coaching institutes and closed 33 others. This has left students worried. Robin Singh of Haryana’s Palval said, “I shifted just a few days ago in a PG accommodation in a residential area. I have been tense after learning about the recent action against illegal coaching centres. They may be violating rules, but we have already paid fees and charges. Our future is at stake.” 

In an affidavit filed in the court, coaching centres sought relief and said that they have already taken fees from students for the next few months. Recently, a group of five students filed an application in the court, seeking to be heard on the issue, saying any decision in the matter would affect their future. The students, preparing for the civil services exam, have claimed that they have already deposited full fees to coaching centres and if any of them is shut down or sealed, they (the applicants) will suffer the most. 

“The applicants are at the most crucial stage of their life where their future will depend on their performance in the competitive exams and any hindrance and wastage of time will leave them behind, spoiling their future,” the plea filed through advocates Arvind Singh and Amit Kocher said. The case is now listed for hearing on November 20.

Problems Galore

Hanging wires, tilted electric poles, dilapidated buildings, congested streets, dingy lanes, filth and encroachments. Some boys consume alcohol in the open. Petty criminals also pose as students and look for preys. Cases of car theft, chain snatching and harassment are rampant.

Coaching centres’ plea

They have sought relief from the Delhi High Court, saying they have already taken fees from students for the next few months.

Students’ petition in HC

They have sought to be heard on the issue, saying any decision in the matter would affect their future. They have already deposited full fees to coaching centres and if any of them is shut down or sealed, they (the applicants) will suffer the most.

Coaching hotspot

5 lakh Students from across India live here to prepare for competitive exams, particularly civil services.
400 Big and small coaching centres, many of them housed in residential buildings in violation of Delhi’s Master Plan. 
400 Acres is the area of Mukherjee Nagar
90% Houses converted into PG accommodations 
32 Coaching centres were recently sealed and 33 others shut by municipal authorities

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