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No shops on footpaths, roads that block traffic: Court

Staff Reporter

MCD Commissioner directed to take action against official

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has once again made it clear that it is determined to see that pedestrians and vehicular traffic have unhindered run on the Capital's footpaths and roads.

The Court gave this unambiguous signal while hearing two petitions drawing its attention to the audacity of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to allow three kiosks in the Green Park market to operate their business despite a High Court order for their removal and the blatant attempt on the part of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to allow evacuees of a piece of public land to rebuild their slums on the same site in front of Retreat Cooperative Group Housing Society near Mother Dairy in East Delhi.

A Division Bench of the Court comprising Justice Vijender Jain and Justice R.S. Sodhi said: "We would not allow any shop or kiosk whether licensed or tehbazari on the city's footpaths and roads which block free walk of pedestrians and movement of traffic.''

The Bench also directed the MCD Commissioner to take appropriate action against a Licensing Inspector of the Corporation for instructing counsel for the local body to submit in the Court that three kiosks, which the civic body had not removed, were not blocking traffic in the area.

"No shop or kiosk is allowed on footpaths, roads and streets which block pedestrians' walk and free traffic movement,'' the Bench emphasised.

In the kiosk matter, the "victim" had also gone in appeal in the Supreme Court against the High Court order, and the apex court had dismissed his petition. Yet he was not in a mood to shift the kiosks.

Slum dwellers' protest

The unauthorised slum dwellers in East Delhi had sat on dharna in the middle of Narwana Road near Mother Dairy while the kiosk owner of the Green Park Market had approached the High Court for reconsideration of the order despite the fact that the Supreme Court had dismissed his petition.

When the Bench brought the heat on the Licensing Inspector Jai Chand of the local body present in the Court in the kiosk matter, the latter apologised to the Court and submitted that he had half demolished the kiosks and the other halves would be demolished in an hour.

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