Traders seek meeting with L-G over flaws in DDA plan
NEWDELHI: City traders on Monday wrote to lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal, seeking an appointment to discuss the alleged shortcomings in the Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) proposals to amend Master Plan 2021.
The DDA had approved three proposals of providing uniform floor area ratio (FAR) for shopcum-residential complexes, reducing penalties on conversion charges and regularising godownsbymakingamendments to the Delhi Master Plan 2021.
However, some traders called these proposals “half-baked” and said that the conditions attached with them will prove to be roadblocks for obtaining the benefits in future. “For example: to avail the increased FAR in shop-cumresidential complexes, the traders would need to have parking facility. But very few markets have such facility at present,” said Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT).
In the letter to the L-G, the CAIT has suggested that the condition for obtaining ‘no objection certificate’ from the fire department to run commercial activities in basements should be applied only to the buildings constructed in the future.
“And the commercial activities in basements should be allowed in all areas including commercial, mixed land use, pedestrian streets, village abadi and unauthorised colonies,” said Ramlal, a trader from Karol Bagh and member of CAIT.
Traders also said that there is no mention about the sealing status in ‘special areas’ such as Karol Bagh and Chandni Chowk. “As per MPD 2021, no action can be taken in special areas unless a redevelopment plan is implemented by civic agencies but even those areas are being targeted ,” said Khandelwal.
Emphasising the need for withdrawing penalty on conversion charges, Brijesh Goel, convener of Chamber of Trade and Industry said, “The DDA has suggested to reduce penalty on payment of conversion charges from 10 times to two times for those who have not paid the charges. But, there are many cases where persons have given conversion charges for one year or few years but later discontinued. In such cases... the scheme is not clear.” NEW DELHI: Starting a probe into the ongoing sealing drive across markets in the city, the Delhi Assembly’s special inquiry committee on Monday asked the commissioners of the three municipal corporations (MCDS) to submit a list of properties sealed from December 23 to January 15.
The Assembly committee, which held a meeting on the issue on Monday, directed the commissioners to also devise a mechanism to stop alleged extortion by a few employees of the civic agencies. “It has come to light that some properties were sealed by MCDS without any specific direction from the Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee. Some lower rank MCD employees along with the police are blackmailing and extorting shop owners in the garb of carrying out directions of the monitoring committee,” a member of the committee said on condition of anonymity.
In the meeting, the committee was told that the MCDS are directed by the monitoring committee every morning about which market to conduct the sealing drive. “The committee was told that the MCDS have to submit a report to the monitoring committee every evening,” the member said. Following this, the Assembly committee has asked the MCDS to put this report on their websites every evening so that the people are aware about the status of the sealing drive in their area. This would increase transparency and prevent extortion, the committee said.
On the 351 roads that are to be notified under commercial and mixed use categories by the Delhi government, the committee said that there has been progress.