The Hindu : New Delhi News : Shopkeepers’ plea rejected

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 17, 2007
ePaper

New Delhi

New Delhi

Shopkeepers’ plea rejected

Staff Reporter

NDMC gets a free hand to relocate shops

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has rejected a plea for stay on a decision by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to relocate shops in the grand old circular building at Gole Market here to Palika Bazar to facilitate renovation of the complex.

The NDMC put the building in the dangerous category last week and has drawn up a restoration plan to repair it and put it to community use. According to the authorities, the building, built way back in 1912, has become so weak that it can collapse any day.

High licence fee

The shopkeepers had refused to shift their shops to Palika Bazar on the ground that the licence fee being charged by the civic body for alternative shops was very high. Their objection to the decision was that the shops selling meat and fish in the circular building were not given alternative shops in Palika Bazar.

NDMC counsel Anjana Gosain contended that her client was not bound to provide alternative shops to the shopkeepers. She further submitted that the Council could not allot alternative shops to the shopkeepers selling meat and fish in Palika Bazar as their sale was not allowed there.

She submitted that even the traffic police were against putting the building to commercial use after its renovation on the ground that the traffic at the roundabout was so heavy that it would not be wise to allow commercial activities there.

Rejecting the plea by one of the 27 shopkeepers in the building, Justice Gita Mittal gave the civic body a free hand to relocate the shops in accordance with the law.

Justice Mittal also rejected the petitioner’s plea on the point of licence fee saying the civic body was not engaged in charity.

The Court posted the matter to April 2008 to hear it on merits.

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