MCDs pass resolution, will approach Supreme Court to stop sealing in Delhi

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled municipal corporations have said that they will move Supreme Court next week to seek a six-month stay on the sealing of illegal commercial establishments in the national Capital.

The decision was taken during a joint session of the three civic bodies which was held on Saturday to find out a solution to the action against traders and properties that flout municipal laws.

The meeting passed a resolution to file a mercy petition before the Delhi Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Anil Baijal, seeking his intervention for suspension of the sealing for six months.

One of the six main points in the petition is that the L-G and the Delhi Government should immediately forward the resolution passed by the corporations to the Centre and request the Additional Solicitor General (ASG) to approach the apex court to halt the sealing process for six months.

“Our resolution emphasises giving relief to owners who have already paid conversion charges for 10 year. We don’t want to them to pay the charges in future. This would be in addition to waiving of penalty and interest on conversion charges to be paid by the traders,” said Kamaljeet Sehrawat, mayor, South Delhi Municipal Corporation.

The resolution will also be sent to the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs, which can direct the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to amend the Delhi Master Plan 2021, said the BJP leader.

“We will also request that basements should be allowed in residential buildings to be used for commercial purposes, increasing the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) in local shopping complexes from 180 to 350, charging ‘use conversion charge’ on the basis of category of markets and allowing commercial activities on un-notified roads after conducting a fresh survey within 90 days,” said Shikha Rai, leader of the house, South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC).

The corporations will also approach the Delhi government to approve the survey report on 351 roads and send it to the Union government.

In a joint press conference, three mayors said a delegation of BJP leaders led by state unit chief Manoj Tiwari will meet the Union urban development minister Shri Hardeep Singh Puri over the issue.

All 272 councillors of Delhi were present in the meeting. However, the seven MPs and the 70 MLAs did not participate, as announced earlier.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) blamed the BJP for not clearing their stand on sealing. Rakesh Kumar, leader of the opposition in North Delhi Municipal Corporation, said, “Passing resolution is a political gimmick because it will not be implemented unless is approved by the Centre.”

Ramesh Matiala, leader of the opposition, SDMC said, “The BJP is in power in both the Centre and the MCDs. If they really want to provide relief to city traders, they can bring an ordinance to stop sealing. Their seriousness can be gauged from the fact that none of their seven Delhi MPs were present in the joint session.”

Sehrawat blamed the UPA government and previous Congress governments in Delhi for not taking cognizance of the increasing commercial activities in Delhi when the Master Plan of Delhi 2021 was being finalised, in 2007.

Abhishek Dutt, Congress councillor from Andrews Ganj, however, denied the allegation. “As soon as the monitoring committee was appointed by the SC in 2006-07, the Centre immediately approached the court,” Dutt said.

On the contrary, BJP councillors are not clear about their demands, he alleged.

“It has already been notified that the traders who have paid the conversion charges for 10 years will not require to pay the money from 2017 onwards. So, why they want the Centre to pass the resolution again?,” Dutt asked.

The sealing started in the city on December 22, after the SC appointed monitoring committee started taking against the traders misusing the residential properties for commercial use. It started with sealing of 51 units in Defence Colony market for misuse of properties.