Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the north municipal corporation of demolishing areas around Gaffar Market to reconstruct complexes and to sell it afresh while evicting the existing shopkeepers.
AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said that the north corporation wants to evict shopkeepers who were given a lease of 99 years in 1976 and reconstruct it with a new builder who will sell these shops to new people instead.
“The corporation did not carry out maintenance for 40 years and now served an eviction notice to empty the market within three days. MCD and DDA construct market complexes at various places and the shops in these markets are given on lease for 99 years. Ideally, these leases are converted into freehold deeds. However, the MCD in connivance with big builder mafias is coming up with a new technique,” he said.
He further added, “The most astounding thing in this situation is that the MCD wants to evict the shopkeepers who were given a lease of 99 years. There are about 39 such markets in Delhi and the MCD is making a similar plan for all these markets. This is being done so that the BJP can fill hundreds of crore rupees in their pockets before leaving the MCD.”