HC wants site plan of Hauz Khas Village
Delhi high court on Tuesday directed the South Delhi Municipal Corporation to inspect Hauz Khas Village to chart out a site plan, indicating the width of the streets, location of restaurants and positioning of exits of restaurants in the popular eating out zone.
The high court also called for status report on a fire that broke out in August last year in one of the buildings, killing a 37-yearold man.
“It should be enough that if a fire happened, there is no way to get out of there,” the high court said while questioning the feasibility of running a number of restaurants in the area.
The high court said it was concerned about the safety of the people who visit the area.
The court was hearing petitions by social activist Pankaj Sharma and advocate Anuja Kapur, who said there are over 120 restaurants and pubs running in the area without any building plan approval or no objection certificate (NOC) from the authorities, including the fire department.
They alleged “unlawful existence” of restaurants, pubs, fashion studios, bars serving liquor without licence, art galleries and other buildings in the village.
The petitioners claimed the restaurants posed a grave security risk and fire hazard. And apart from that, the crowd made it impossible for emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire trucks to gain access to the restaurants.
The HC said it will consider the owners’ right to practice profession, which has been guaranteed under the Constitution.
“We will balance the rights of every person, including the owners of the properties, but only if one has complied with the building by-laws and the master plan. Violators will have to go,” the high court said.
The corporation said they had issued closure notices to 19 restaurant owners who had failed to get mandatory clearances from the agencies and the government.
The Delhi Police informed the court that around 5,000 people visit on weekdays and over 15,000 on weekends.
The police said there are around 45 eateries in Hauz Khas Village, of which 26 have valid licences, eight have applied for renewal and four have fresh licences.
Seven of the restaurants were operating without any licence, the police told the court. The court fixed the matter for further hearing on September 5.