Delhi HC: Ensure action against illegal hawkers at Chandni Chowk

The Delhi high court has directed the Delhi Police and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to take strict action on a day-to-day basis and remove illegal hawkers from non-vending zones of Chandni Chowk.

Disposing a plea filed by the Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal seeking the removal of illegal hawkers and squatters from Chandni Chowk, the high court took note of an action plan put forth by a special task force (STF) to deal with the issue and warned the MCD assistant commissioner and the station house officers of the Lahori Gate and Kotwali police stations that they would be held personally liable for any failure to remove the squatters.

“We have carefully perused the said orders and are of the considered opinion that the SHO of the concerned PS as also the Assistant Commissioner of the concerned zone, MCD shall be personally responsible to ensure that the directions, as formulated by the STF in its minutes dated 07.12.2023 shall be scrupulously followed and implemented by the local authorities,” a bench of justices Yogesh Khanna and Tushar Rao Gedeala said in its December 20 order.

The STF was formed in 2022 to regularly check and act against illegal hawkers, and to prevent their return. In its action plan, the force recommended the carrying out of encroachment removal drives on a regular basis by a team comprising MCD officials and Delhi Police personnel. It further required beat constables to keep vigil in the area to prevent such squatters from resurfacing.

In 2022, the high court had ordered the police and the erstwhile North MCD to remove encroachments from Chandni Chowk, observing that the revamped heritage market is already falling into disrepair. “It is disheartening to see that the redevelopment activities in the Chandni Chowk area are already falling in disrepair due to rampant encroachment of the area,” the court had said.

In November this year, the high court had also asked the Delhi government to ensure that the redevelopment and beautification work carried out in the Chandni Chowk area is maintained and continued.