Delhi: Politics of (de)-sealing

Even as the BJP-led municipal corporations and the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government are trying their best to protect traders, a crucial votebank, from the recent sealing drive, the Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee is leaving no stone unturned in taking the drive forward and shutting down establishments which they believe are in violation of rules. Since the drive started in December last year, the panel has sealed over 200 properties which include portions of restaurants, eateries, shops, showrooms and basements across the city.

Crackdown continues

While the traders’ community in the city has been doing the rounds of political parties to seek relief, civic bodies met members of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee on Wednesday to “allow 48 hours prior notice (to traders) before the sealing action”. However, the three-member panel which has on board Bhure Lal, chairman of the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, K J Rao, former advisor to the Election Commission and Major General (Retd) Som Jhingan has so far refused to agree to the proposition, indicating that the crackdown is likely to continue.

The Committee was first appointed by the apex court in 2006 to check “misuse” of residential premises for commercial use. During this time, a drive started in 2006 when the Committee took action and sealed 5,000 commercial units illegally operating in the city. The drive went on till 2012 when a court order stripped the committee of its powers. However, these powers were revived in December last year after the committee submitted two reports highlighting “rampant unauthorised construction” happening where commercial activity was taking place in neighbourhoods. After this, the SC gave it the go ahead to start the sealing drive once again after five years.

“We had been doing our work even during these five years, but since we did not have the power, we could not do much. It was only after 2012-13, that there was a sudden increase in unauthorised constructions. Besides, there was also a surge in complaints from people against commercial activities going on within residential premises. We then submitted the report, after which the court restored our powers and told us to go ahead,” said Rao.

Protecting shopkeepers

Meanwhile, the Delhi Assembly too has formed a special committee to look into the reasons and if sealing can be avoided. On the national level, the Centre has passed a Special Provisions Act Bill to protect “unauthorised colonies” from punitive action being taken against them. This protection since has been extending from 2011 to 2014 to 2018 and now finally till 2020.

In the Winter Session, Parliament had extended the deadline of the law to protect slums and unauthorised colonies for three years from January 1, 2018 to 2020. While extending the deadline of the Bill, Minister of state for Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri, had stated that the population of the Capital had been estimated at 186 lakh in 2016. Puri said “growth has consequences, which was reflected in encroachment of public land, growth of slums, unauthorised constructions, large-scale commercialisation of residential areas and inadequacy of housing.”

“Passing this law was initially meant to allow time to the city government to plan its growth. However, since it protected these colonies from action against unauthorised construction as well, the number of illegal units increased manifold,” said one of the members of the SC-appointed panel, on condition of anonymity.

Action taken against markets

Despite the government’s bid to protect traders, the drive has cracked down on residential cum-commercial complexes which were brought under the category of ‘Local Shopping Complexes’ in the Master Plan. These include upscale markets such as Defence Colony, Khan Market and Meharchand market, among others.  According to the committee, there are so far over 140 such complexes in the city, where “misuse” or “unauthorised constructions” have been found.

From Khan Market to Meharchand Market to more recently Defence Colony market, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) has recently sealed around 50 basements in Defence Colony for “misuse”.

Establishments here include popular restaurants, shops and cafes including Moets, MB’s and Swagat, among others. But this is not the first time this has happened.   Portions of 51 major eateries and cafes had been sealed in the  market earlier this month for not paying illegal construction and non-payment of conversion charges to the civic body.

Shopkeepers protest

Terming the exercise “ruthless”, the traders’ body  have claimed the basements have been approved by the civic body.  “We were not given any prior notice. We had received showcause notices from the corporation back in 2014-15 after which most traders paid the charges,” said Rajender Malik, president of the Defence Colony Traders Association.

Members of the committee beg to differ. Bhure Lal, a member, said, “Basements cannot be used for commercial use. The drive will continue.”

While the seesaw continues, the SC is scheduled to hear the matter on February 16.

BRIEF HISTORY OF SEALING

In 2006, a sealing drive was carried out by the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) as per orders of the SC-appointed Monitoring Committee which shut down over 5,100 illegal commercial units running from residential quarters.  The drive witnessed massive opposition from traders’ bodies across the Capital leading to city-wide bandhs and violence leading to the death of four people in September 2006.

The drive continued till early 2007 and led the government to make major changes to the Delhi Master Plan bringing in the mix-land use policy where commercial and residential units can co-exist. However, traders had to pay conversion charges for the same. In December 2017, the sealing drive was revived after complaints of illegal construction and allegations that the traders had refused to pay conversion charges.

LAYING DOWN THE LAW

What is the SC-Monitoring Committee?  

The Supreme Court had constituted a three-member committee to look into the menace of illegal constructions in the city in 2006. The committee had back then ordered the sealing of over 5,000 illegally operating commercial units in the city. The committee was revived on December 15 this year after it submitted reports highlighting rampant  unauthorised constructions happening in Delhi  .

Who are the members of the panel?

The panel comprises Bhure Lal, chairman of the Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA), KJ Rao, former advisor to the Election Commission and Major General (retd) Som Jhingan.

Who is carrying out the drive?

In a meeting with the deputy commissioners of the three municipal corporations --- North, South and East --- the panel, has asked them to start sealing operations in all zones.

How many zones are there?

There are six zones in the North, four under the South and two in East Corporation.

Are building norms being violated?

It seems so. The Master Plan for Delhi (MPD) 2021 was notified in 2007. The SC-appointed panel says that many properties in residential areas are being used “commercially” violating the building norms under the Plan.