Market associations across the national Capital will hold a day-long bandh on Tuesday against the ongoing sealing drive. “More than 7 lakh commercial establishments belonging to about 2,000 trade associations will participate in bandh,” said Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) secretary general Praveen Khandelwal. New Delhi Traders Association (NDTA) too has announced to close shops in Connaught Place to express solidarity.
Vikram Badhwar, general secretary of the NDTA, alleged that the authorities are sealing commercial establishments even after accepting conversion charges. “This cannot be tolerated and that is why we have decided to protest against the sealing drive. Where were the authorities when these markets were developingIJ” he asked.
According to officials of the different trade associations, commercial markets in walled city, including, Chandni Chowk, Khari Baoli, Kashmiri Gate, Chawri Bazar, Nai Sarak, Naya Bazar, Sadar Bazar, Darya Ganj besides Connaught Place, Karol Bagh, Paharganj; Khan Market in Central Delhi; Kamla Nagar, Ashok Vihar, Model Town, Rohini, Pitampura, Shalimar Bagh, Punjabi Bagh in North Delhi; Rajouri Garden, Tilak Nagar, Kirti Nagar, Naraina, Jail Road, Dwarka, Janakpuri in West Delhi; Defence Colony, South Extension, lajpat Nagar, Greater Kailash, Green Park, Hauz Khas, Sarojini Nagar, Tughlaqabad, Kalkaji in South Delhi; laxmi Nagar, Jagatpuri, Gandhi Nagar, Krishna Nagar, Shahdara, loni Road, Dilshad Garden, Mayur Vihar, etc, will remain closed.
“The traders will also stage protest at Hauz Qazi, near Chawri Bazar metro station, Kamla Nagar, Model Town, Rajouri Garden, South Extension, and Krishna Nagar,” a CAIT officials said.
The traders are demanding protection from sealing by bringing a specific law. It is ridiculous that local shopping centres are being asked for depositing conversion charges and sealing is conducted without giving any prior notice. The entire sealing proceedings are being run keeping aside the MCD Act, 1957,” Khandelwal said.
It may be noted that municipal corporations in Delhi has conducted a massive sealing drive against shops running in an unauthorised construction or operating businesses at basement and upper floors for not paying conversion charges.
Continuing the drive, the building department of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation has sealed basement and upper floors of 38 properties in Hauz Khas market on Monday, following the direction of the Supreme Court appointed Monitoring Committee.
The civic body had also sealed 135 shops out of 153 lodhi Colony’s Meharchand Market against unauthorised constructions on January1. Earlier, on December 22, the SDMC had sealed some famous shops and restaurants in South Delhi’s posh Defence Colony market for not paying the conversion charges (Rs 89,000 per square meter) to the corporation for converting the residential complex to a commercial one.
Again repeating the drive on December 28, the civic body sealed 29 commercial establishment officers/shops in Chhattarpur Bhati Road. Similarly, North Delhi Municipal Corporation has sealed several shops in areas of Rohini, GTB nagar, Keshav Puram, Paschim Vihar, Karol Bagh, Ramesh Nagar etc.
About 30 leading restaurants and several other units were also sealed in Khan Market by the New Delhi Municipal Council. Many shops, restaurants are being run in other plush markets of South Extension, Green Park and Greater Kailash in gross violation of the laid down rules and regulations.
One of the traders at Defence Colony said, “Injustice has been meted to out to them against the principle of natural justice.”
The proposed ‘Floor Area Ratio’ (FAR) of 350 or 400-500 should be immediately implemented by the Central Government since commercial activities are being conducted to meet the demand and the Government has failed to built enough commercial space in Delhi, he said.
The Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee, which was revived on December 15 last year, has three members including former adviser to the Election Commission KJ Rao, chairman of Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA) Bhure lal and Major General (retd) Som Jhingan.
