NEW DELHI: The Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party secretary and member of the Standing Committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Vijender Kumar Gupta, on Saturday accused the Delhi Government and the Union Urban Development Ministry of having failed to protect the interests of the traders as well as lakhs of labourers who would stand affected by the latest order of the Supreme Court.

In a statement here, Mr. Gupta also demanded convening of a special session of the MCD House to discuss the situation arising out of the Court orders on Friday that would lead to enhanced sealing and demolition activity in the Capital. Debunking the tall claims by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy that the Court had provided relief to the people, Mr. Gupta said it was unfortunate that such senior leaders had not even bothered to read the judgment of apex court before making such comments.

He said there was hardly any relief for the shopkeepers after the verdict of the Court. "The 22 categories of small shops stated to have been allowed under mixed land use roads and areas are the same which were allowed in the apex court's order on February 16. These are the shops catering to the day-to-day needs of the public. The MCD has already permitted unrestricted running of day-to-day need shops in such areas. However, now the Court has imposed restrictions on the total area of the shops as well as the permissible trading activity. This would result in closing down of many shops despite the fact they are engaged in the activity allowed under the 22 categories."

The August 10 orders of the Court, Mr. Gupta said, had sought closure of shops of all those shopkeepers who had filed affidavits, total closure of commercial or mixed land use activity in A and B category colonies and also closing of hazardous category of trading outlets across Delhi. "However, the September 29 orders of the Court hardly provide any relief to people but in turn complicate matters and impose a sense of uncertainty in the current phase of turmoil and chaos."

Similarly, he said, nearly 5 lakh shopkeepers running shops on the 2,200-odd notified roads that did not fall under the Court jurisdiction are now under judicial scrutiny. "The latest Court orders require these shops owners to file affidavits and obtain a certificate from a registered architect on or before November 10. The future of all these shopkeepers will depend on the outcome of the case in the Supreme Court and till then the sword of uncertainty would continue to hang on their heads."

GoM

Charging the Congress party and its Governments in Delhi and at the Centre with having failed to effectively present the case before the apex court, Mr. Gupta said the Union Government was never serious about resolving the matter, otherwise despite three interventions by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and setting up of a Group of Ministers (GoM), nothing concrete has emerged. "The entire bunch of notifications has boomeranged and the people of Delhi have been left to fend for themselves."

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail