Drug stockists and dealers seek inclusion under proposed Delhi Master Plan 2041

Mumbai, July 26, 2021:

Delhi chemists’ body, Retail Distribution Chemist Alliance (RDCA) has sought inclusion of stockists and dealers of medicines and drugs in the proposed Delhi Master Plan 2041.

The draft proposal of the master plan was published in June 2021 inviting public opinion and objection. The 487-page document deals with several issues that will impact the city in the years to come. It emphasizes sustainability, be it environmental, infrastructural, or financial. The draft MPD presents a plan for Delhi over the next 20 years.

RDCA which is affiliated to All India Organization of Chemists and Druggists (AIOCD) on July 22, 2021 wrote to Delhi Development Authority urging it to add stockists and dealers of medicines and drugs in table 22.86 of the proposed plan.

Table 22.86 deals with activities permitted in identified mixed use areas/streets and commercial streets. The type of uses permitted in the table includes bank, dispensary, clinics, clinical laboratory, nursing home, polyclinic, pediatric centre, geriatric centre, wellness centre including spas/weight loss centre/ayurvedic centre, pre-primary/nursery/montessori school, play school, day care centre, vocational training centre, coaching centre, banquet hall, indoor games facilities, coaching centre, gym, fitness centre and guest house etc.

There is no mention of stockists and dealers of medicines and drugs in the table.

Paragraph 22.17.6 in the chapter 22 of draft MPD plan which deals with norms for non-residential use within residential use premises has no mention of stockists and dealers of medicines.

Drug stockists and dealers were also not included in the MPD 2021 plan which was notified on February 7, 2007. Chapter 15 of the MPD plan which incorporated activities permissible in the residential plots did not describe drug stockists and dealers.

Taking serious note of this, drug traders pursued the issue with concerned authorities. Subsequently, an amendment to paragraph 15.7.1 in chapter 15 of MPD 2021 was proposed on December 21, 2018 to incorporate stockists and dealers of medicines and drugs in the activities permissible under the said chapter.

The public hearing for the same was completed on September 10, 2019. Due to Covid-19 pandemic, the gazette notification was not issued in this regard.

Hence, it is quite obvious that the draft MPD 2041 could incorporate stockists and dealers of medicines and drugs in the activities permissible in paragraph 22.17.6 in the chapter 22 wherein a few new additions have been made.

Paragraph 19.13 of the draft plan which deals with norms for redevelopment of godown clusters in non-conforming areas restricts the storage of drugs for want of right of way (RoW) in different categories.

As per norms mentioned in 19.13.2 of the draft, stand along godown plots which do not form part of big clusters shall be allowed on minimum 30 metre of RoW.

In village abadi (lal dora area) and extended lal dora areas, storage godowns of non-polluting/non-hazardous materials shall be allowed on 9 metre RoW with plot size up to 300 sq metre (7.5 metre in case the road is defined/approved by the revenue department) and 12 metre RoW for plot size above 300 sq metre.

These godowns shall be allowed subject to fulfillment of parking requirements within the plot and no objection certificate from Delhi traffic police and Delhi fire services of GNCTD. Facility for loading/unloading from the vehicles shall be provided within the plot.

Upset with this, RDCA appealed to DDA to exempt the drug retailers, wholesalers having sale license under Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules thereunder from RoW norms in Paragraph 19.13.2.

The table 19.3.2 thus needs to be amended to the extent that the RoW is applicable except to the storage and warehousing for stockists and dealers of medicines having sale license issued by drugs control department, said RDCA chairman Dinesh Madan.

“We have requested DDA to make the necessary amendments to proposed MPD 2041 considering the needs of the ailing community who depend on easy availability of drugs in parts of Delhi and under ease of doing business in Delhi,” said Madan.

The RDCA chairman had participated in a public meeting conducted by DDA to discuss Delhi’s Master Plan 2041 on July 1 and July 16, 2021.

The master plan should be made in such a way as to ensure all sections of the society are benefited, he added.

In July 2017, the DDA signed a pact with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) for preparation of Master Plan Delhi 2041.

The first Master Plan for Delhi was formulated in 1962 under the Delhi Development Act of 1957, followed by the Master Plans of 2001 and 2021, each of which is an extensive modification of the respective previous plan document. These plans were prepared for 20 years’ perspective periods and provided a holistic framework for planned development of Delhi. Pharmabiz