On a day furious traders’ associations decided to observe 48 hours bandh in the national Capital on February 2 and 3 in protest against the ongoing sealing drive, all the three municipal corporations in Delhi held a special joint session on Saturday and passed a pro-traders’ resolution to request the Supreme Court to halt the sealing drive for at least six months.
500 prominent trade bodies, under the umbrella of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), also urged the Union Government to bring a Bill in Budget Session of Parliament to protect traders’ interests. CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal said during their 48 hours bandh, traders will hold protest marches and dharnas in their respective markets. “Prior to this, a delegation will also meet all the seven MPs and MlAs of Delhi and submit memoranda. Besides, the traders will also give memoranda to prominent leaders of all political parties,” he said.
Khandelwal protested against the manner in which the sealing drive is being undertaken without giving any notice or opportunity of hearing to traders.
He said the SC-appointed monitoring committee is working like an extra-administrative authority, which is detrimental to the democratic fabric of the country.
In the three municipal corporations’ joint session held amid unprecedented ruckus, a resolution was moved by South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) leader of the House Shikha Rai. The resolution also mentions no more conversion charges for those who have already paid it for 10 years.
The resolution also mentions, “Further, full waiver of penalty and interest on conversion charges, immediate notification of 351 roads as commercial/mixed land used, hike ‘Floor Area Ratio’ (FAR) in the basements of residential buildings, enhance ambit of commercial activities in basement and collect conversion charges on the basis of category of colonies.”
The civic bodies also requested the Union Government to issue a notification to allow commercial activities on un-notified roads after conducting a survey within 90 days.
The altercation among BJP and AAP councillors forced the chair to adjourn the joint session for 15 minutes. Police personnel had to be deployed to restore normalcy.