From rxpgnews.com
Sealing resumes in Delhi after weekend break
By Indo Asian News Service,
Nov 20, 2006 - 6:03:06 PM
New Delhi, Nov 20 (IANS) Sealing of illegal commercial establishments continued here Monday after a weekend break with the focus on south and central Delhi.
'We have started the drive in Greater Kailash-I in south Delhi. Illegal establishments in south and central zone will face the sealing squad today,' said a Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) official.
The Supreme Court on Nov 15 had given a reprieve to traders who had filed affidavits promising to stop the misuse of their premises, saying they need to give only a written intimation to the Monitoring Committee via MCD's zonal offices.
The official said over 17,000 traders filed applications near the zonal commissioners of MCD till Sunday evening - the deadline given by the apex court.
The monitoring committee is set to submit a report Monday in the Supreme Court on the status of applications filed by traders till Nov 19.
'In most probability, the monitoring committee will submit a report on the above issue before the court by this evening as the next hearing on giving reprieve to traders has been fixed as Nov 22,' the official said.
As many as 984 commercials units have been sealed since Nov 8, the day civic authorities resumed the sealing drive following a Supreme Court directive.
The sealed units include guesthouses, restaurants, playschools and some government offices found to be violating Delhi's Master Plan that segregates residential and commercial areas.
On Nov 6, the Supreme Court had dismissed petitions filed by MCD and the central government and directed that sealing be resumed immediately.
Traders, meanwhile, continued their relay hunger strike near Raj Ghat, Mahatma Gandhi's memorial, for the sixth day. They said the strike would go on till Nov 22 - the day parliament's winter session commences.
'Apart from the strike, we are going to submit a memorandum to leaders of all political parties in Lok Sabha to bring a consensus among all politicians over the issue. They need to pass the Delhi Master Plan 2021 in this session,' Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general of the Confederation of All India Traders, told IANS.
He added that they were also demanding a fresh survey in Delhi before giving shape to the new master plan. 'The last survey was carried out six years back but the ground realities have changed a lot since then,' he said.
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