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Chaos in Delhi worries Congress

Sujay Mehdudia

After sealing, court decision to seal shops in DDA flats rattles party

NEW DELHI: With elections to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi hardly months away, the Congress is worried about the adverse impact the continuing chaos prevailing in the Capital might have on the fortunes of the party. As if the sealing and demolitions were not enough, the decision to seal shops in DDA flats and notification of high conversion charges has once again rattled the ruling party and the Government.

In addition, the party has come under pressure from the land and builder mafia to get new roads and areas notified under the mixed land and commercial use category. "There is pressure from the builders lobby, the majority of whom belong to the Congress, to get new roads notified in certain areas of Outer Delhi so that the land sharks are able to carve illegal plots and sell them off to unsuspecting buyers. They are wanting an official approval by getting these roads included in the new list so that their illegal activities get regularised through proper channel," said a senior official.

It is understood that the Centre had got crosschecked certain areas that were sought to be included in the list of new roads under the two categories by some elected representatives. It was found that most of them had already been encroached upon or were ready to be encroached upon to carve out unauthorised colonies so that the same are regularised when the Union Government takes a decision on this issue. "The matter has been brought to the notice of Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy on how some elected representatives are trying to promote the cause of land sharks," the official stated.

It is learnt that Congress leaders are upset with the Union Urban Development Ministry for having notified the new conversion charges without taking the party or the Delhi Government into confidence. This is one of the reasons why a formal resolution was passed at the recent meeting of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee against the new conversion charges. What is even more worrying for the party, which is preparing itself for the MCD polls early next year, is the new direction by the Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee to seal all commercial establishments in DDA flats. "This has come as a bolt from the blue for the party. It has been patting itself on the back for securing relief from sealing and demolitions and now suddenly it finds itself again in a messy situation. Sealing in DDA flats means closure of nearly 1.5 lakh shops that the kind of repercussions it would have for the party could be imagined," a senior party leader remarked.

"The Congress rule in Delhi has turned into a cruse for the common man. After sealing and demolitions in various parts of the city, it is now the turn of the DDA flats. Coupled with this, the high conversion charges have left the common man shocked. The Congress is showing its true colours. The DPCC passes a resolution of thanks and the Union Urban Development Ministry notifies unprecedented conversion charges. The Monitoring Committee recommends sealing in DDA flats. There is complete confusion and the right hand does not know what the left is doing," said senior BJP leader and former Union Minister, Vijay Goel.

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