NEW DELHI: As it might take a few more days before the Bill seeking a one-year moratorium on ongoing sealing and demolition drives gets the Presidential assent and is notified by the Centre, senior Municipal Corporation of Delhi officials and Councillors are in a bind over how to proceed further with the twin drives. Apart from fearing a backlash from residents and traders, MCD officials are also under pressure from their political bosses to keep the entire exercise low-key till the Bill gets final clearance.

Though officially the civic body has said that it would continue with both the drives targeting illegal shops and unauthorised constructions across the Capital as desired by the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court, sources revealed that people have started pressuring their local representatives demanding that the twin drives be stopped immediately. "People are angry that when the Bill has already been tabled in Parliament and passed in the Lok Sabha, then what was the logic behind continuing to target illegal structures and shops?" asked a senior Congress Councillor.

It is learnt that since last Friday when the Bill was tabled in Parliament, senior MCD officials and Councillors have held a series of meetings to discuss how to proceed with the twin drives till the Bill was finally cleared. Leaders want that the exercise be carried out in such a way that people with old constructions and small traders were not affected and also that the courts were also satisfied with the entire exercise. Those carrying out demolitions and sealing have been asked to ensure that old constructions and shops are spared while the prime targets should be encroachments on public land and ongoing illegal constructions.

"The coming week will be very crucial for us as we do not want that people who have carried out unauthorised constructions to meet their family requirements or opened shops for employment are targeted. Instead, the target should be land mafia and habitual offenders. I hope MCD officials will judiciously carry out the drive in the days to come keeping in mind that genuine people are not affected," the Councillor added.

Stating that action against encroachments on public land would continue even after passage of the Bill for which the civic body has already prepared a plan, a senior MCD official accepted that there was tremendous pressure from the public against going ahead with the twin drives.

"We fear that there people might take to the streets to protest against the drives, particularly when it is almost certain the Bill will be passed soon giving relief to people. Though the exercise to remove illegal constructions is far from over, the sealing of illegal shops on 80 feet wide roads will take a few more days. The coming days will be tough for our employees carrying out the drives," he added.

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