NEW DELHI: Fearing a backlash from the Capital's traders and other affected people who are accusing the Delhi Government of doing little to protect their interests, the Delhi Cabinet has decided to write to the Union Government seeking relief for the traders from sealing and demolitions.

The Cabinet is also understood to have decided to authorise Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit to move a resolution in the Delhi Assembly asking the Union Ministry for Urban Development to give relief to the lakhs of traders by taking all possible legislative and other measures. The resolution would also seek relief for the 45,000-odd traders who have already filed their affidavits in court and now face sealing from November 1.

The resolution would be brought on the first day of the Assembly session scheduled to begin on October 30.

These decisions were taken at an urgent Cabinet meeting held at Ms. Dikshit's residence late on Monday night.

The Cabinet was of the view that the 5 lakh-odd traders covered by the September 7 notification of the Union Urban Development Ministry and the September 15 notification of the Delhi Government notifying 2,200-odd roads for mixed land and commercial use should not be asked to file affidavits and the Delhi Government should write in this regard to the Union Government. The Cabinet also vouched for the 45,000-odd traders who have already filed their affidavits and felt they should also be given relief along with other sections.

The Delhi Government, particularly the Chief Minister, have come under fire for not doing enough to sort out the mess and instead provoking the situation by making contradictory statements. What aggravated matters further was Ms. Dikshit's statement welcoming the September 29 order of the Supreme Court, which hardly provided any relief to the affected parties.

It is understood that a majority of her ministers were of the view that a message had gone out to the traders and the people at large that the Delhi Government was doing virtually nothing to bail out the traders. Some of the ministers even suggested that the Delhi Government formally write to the Union Government to carry out a Constitutional amendment in order to save lakhs of people from being displaced. However, this view did not find favour with the Chief Minister who felt that a more sober way of doing things was to once again write to the Centre on the sealing and demolitions issue.

Political observers here recall that Ms. Dikshit had on September 4 written to Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy seeking changes in the Master Plan for Delhi-2001 to prevent sealing in the Capital. Way back in February this year the Chief Minister had also sought issuing of an Ordinance to put an end to the issue of sealing and demolitions in the Capital.

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