In the Defence Colony market, Hargurdev Singh has been waiting for over five years for a change in the status of the shops sealed on the upper floors, one of which used to house his restaurant.
With no guarantee of his previous venture reopening and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) legal process taking time, Mr. Singh now runs a cloud kitchen from Greater Noida.
In 2017 and 2018, the MCD sealed shops across markets in several basements and on upper floors in local shopping centres (LSCs), including those in Defence Colony, Green Park and Hauz Khas.
The sealing drive began on the directions of a Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee over the usage of residential properties for commercial purposes without paying conversion charges.
Traders not favoured
Last month, three resolutions tabled by Aam Aadmi Party councillors against the sealing drive were passed in the MCD House. One of them stated that the civic body officials would favour traders at a meeting with a judicial committee, appointed by the Supreme Court to hear sealing-related matters.
However, traders at LSCs in various areas, including Green Park, Hauz Khas, Greater Kailash-II, and Rajinder Nagar, said the officials at the meeting last week were reluctant to speak in their favour.
The Mayor’s office had issued a statement noting that pending implementation of the resolution was being examined, while “strict action” will be taken “against the officers who have caused such non-adherence”.
The traders, however, said that political intervention had “no effect” and will not solve their problem.
Rakesh Thukral, 65, said there is no question of paying conversion charges, as the plots at the LSCs were already commercial.
Mr. Thukral’s family-owned dry-cleaning business at the Green Park market since 1963 is among those affected. He said many traders were solely dependent on the income received from renting out the now-sealed floors.
“The sealing drive also led to employees losing jobs due to shop owners having to downsize.
“The [Green Park] market has 43 buildings. Many of their basements and upper floors were sealed. This forced jewellers and banks to relocate, as many were dependent on basements, which were crucial for lockers and storage purposes. The sealing has only demotivated business prospects,” he added.
Worst hit areas
Vishal Ohri claimed that the sealing drive hit 10 LSCs the most, including those in Defence Colony, Hauz Khas, Greater Kailash-I, Sundar Nagar.
The general secretary of an LSC federation of 106 markets, he said, “This is nothing but high-handedness of the MCD, which is not interested in de-sealing the markets. This is not a suitable atmosphere to do business. If a resolution was passed in the MCD House to de-seal the markets, why does it continue to stand against us?”
For Riyaz Amlaani, a former restaurant owner who operated out of a rented space in the Defence Colony market, the sealing put an abrupt halt to a growing business.
“It used to be a thriving community market, then suddenly, it was gone. It is no longer lively and vibrant. My plans of making a performance space at the restaurant also took a back seat. The loss is incalculable. All it [sealing drive] has done is taken businesses away from the high streets and shove them into malls,” he said.
Unlikely to stop
Senior MCD officials said the sealing drive was carried out based on directions of the monitoring committee, with one adding that traders are liable to pay conversion charges. “It is unlikely for the resolution to be implemented. We will only go slow on the sealing drive for now, which will be a momentary relief,” said the official.
For now, traders like Mr. Singh and Mr. Thukral are putting their faith on lawyers and the judicial committee.
Published - April 10, 2023 01:54 am IST
