Khan Market
According to Vishal Sharma, the owner of Affinity, police sealed the door to his establishment’s terrace and said it could not be reopened without an affidavit.
Dilip, the manager of Khan Chacha, said the restaurant was directed to remove a flammable, climate-controlling synthetic sheet from the roof. “Our dining has been stopped in the outside portion for over a year. That might be the reason why we were spared.”
Sanjeev Mehra, president of the Khan Market Traders Association, said local establishments had 24 hours to conform with the DDA rules before being at least partially sealed.
Mehra expressed skepticism about the need for the raids. “To the best of my knowledge, all 42 residential flats were converted and allowed to operate a commercial activity,” he said. “Now, to turn around and say that they are doing the business illegally is unjustified and unwarranted because the NDMC themselves allowed the conversion after receiving the payments.”
Shop owners were fearful and confused. “What is our violation?” asked one proprietor of a partially-sealed store who requested anonymity. “We have paid the conversion charges and are still facing harassment.”
Before the inspection team arrived, members of an expert committee appointed by Supreme Court surveyed the area. The committee comprises KJ Rao, a former adviser to the EC; Bhure Lal, the chairman of Environment Pollution Prevention and Control Authority; and the retired major general Som Jhingan. One of the members of the committee confirmed that there will be another round of inspections on Tuesday.
The NDMC and other municipal bodies, the expert committee, and the DDA have been involved with other raids throughout the city. Some properties in the Delhi’s upscale markets are used for dual purposes, with a shopping outlet on the ground floor and an eatery on the first and second floors. According to government rules, such mixed arrangements call for ‘use conversion charges’.
In December, the committee directed civic authorities to seal the first floors and all higher floors of 51 shops and restaurants in the Defence Colony market for failing to pay the charges. Last week, the DDA encouraged shopkeepers to pay up by reducing the fees from ₹89,000 per square metre to ₹22,700 per square metre. “(Yet) the owners are not paying the charges even after being reduced,” said one of the members of the expert committee in justifying the need for more raids.