The Hindu : New Delhi News : Plea to seek Manmohan's intervention

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 04, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Plea to seek Manmohan's intervention

Staff Reporter

Traders also meet MCD Commissioner; demand setting up of monitoring cell

NEW DELHI: Seeing no relief coming from the Supreme Court on the issue of ongoing sealing of shops running from residential premises, politicians as well as traders on Monday tried to impress upon the Centre and other authorities to immediately find a solution to the problem.

In the morning, traders gathered under the banner of the Confederation of All India Traders and met Lieutenant-Governor B.L. Joshi and urged him to intervene in the matter and save their shops from being sealed. Stating that the shops being sealed were the only source of livelihood for them and their employees, traders urged Mr. Joshi to speak to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to find a way out of the present mess.

They later met Municipal Commissioner A.K. Nigam and demanded formation of a monitoring cell by the civic body where they can file complaints and voice their grievances. Stating that it was not possible for traders to directly meet members of the Monitoring Committee formed by the Apex Court to oversee the ongoing sealing action, traders said the cell would help them in highlighting their concern before the Committee.

Similarly, led by Leader of the Opposition in the MCD House Subhash Arya, all Bharatiya Janata Party Councillors called upon senior BJP leader and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha L.K. Advani urging him to discuss the matter with the Prime Minister so that an amnesty scheme could be announced for the benefit of the affected traders.

`Fight for the cause'

Alleging that the present situation has arisen due to the non-implementation of Master Plans by the successive Congress Governments at the Centre, Mr. Arya asked Mr. Advani to fight for the cause of traders and residents of Delhi who were being ruined due to the failure of various government agencies including the MCD and the DDA.

Meanwhile, Mayor Satbir Singh has welcomed the initiative by Congress MPs from the Capital to appeal to the Centre to bring an Ordinance to regularise shops in residential areas. "An Ordinance to regularise commercial activities in areas with 80 ft or wider roads is the only way to solve the crisis. Sealing action is not only hitting traders but also affecting their employeeswho are being rendered jobless," he said. Blaming the erstwhile BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre for not including the provision for mixed land use in residential areas in the Master Plan 2001, the Mayor said the Congress Governments at the Centre and in Delhi were trying to give relief to traders. A recent notification on mix land use by the Union Urban Development Ministry was a positive step in this direction, Mr. Singh claimed.

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