By IANS
New Delhi : Armed with a government notification, Delhi’s civic authorities will start de-sealing of illegal properties from Wednesday. The Supreme Court, which had directed the sealing of these properties, was Tuesday apprised of the government decree.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Tuesday filed an affidavit before the Supreme Court, apprising it of the central government’s notification of Jan 30.
“The de-sealing would start from Wednesday. Tuesday, we (MCD) filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, where we clarified that we would go by the decree of the government that put all the sealing exercise in abeyance,” MCD Standing Committee chairman Vijender Gupta told IANS.
This move will benefit over 3,000 properties that were sealed for violating the Delhi Master Plan 2021. Over 1,500 unauthorised colonies in the capital will also get some respite.
The Supreme Court had asked civic authorities last year to take action against these properties.
Gupta said de-sealing will start from Wednesday though a three-member monitoring committee set up by the Supreme Court was still studying the notification.
Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy had Friday notified: “Notwithstanding any judgement, decree, or order of court, steps shall be taken by the local authority, including de-sealing, to maintain status quo as on Jan 1, 2006, in respect of encroachment or unauthorised development.”
While the ruling Congress has hailed the notification, city Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have termed the initiative as mere eyewash.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Pradesh Citizen Council, an NGO, Tuesday filed a petition before the Supreme Court urging it to declare the notification as “unconstitutional and illegal”.
Jasbir Singh Malik of the council contended in the petition that the notification was issued under political considerations and was an attempt to overreach the apex court’s orders.
Malik said the government, in exercising its powers under Section 5 of the National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Act, 2007, was trying to protect the properties in unauthorised colonies, which are not even protected by that law itself.
Therefore, under no circumstances the terms of the notification can go beyond the provisions of the Act.
The petitioner said the notification was aimed at protecting violators of civic laws at the cost of law-abiding citizens of Delhi.
The sealing in Delhi began in 1996, when the Supreme Court ordered closure of small industries in the residential areas by Dec 31, 1999. By 2000, only 39,000 units had been closed, leaving a vast bulk untouched.
In February 2006, the MCD started sealing commercial establishments in residential colonies, only to end the drive in May after the central government introduced a bill suspending sealing.
The Bill, however, did not go down well with the Supreme Court, which, in August 2006, termed the law invalid and ordered the sealing to continue.
As traders under the banner of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) launched violent protests, the apex court gave relief to them by putting off sealing till Oct 31, 2006.
In November 2006, the government prepared a new master plan for Delhi, allowing mixed land use, according to which shops on over 2,200 roads could function. The sealing of shops on roads not mentioned in the master plan list started again on March 28, 2007.