NDMC razes illegal extensions by 80 shops in Khari Baoli

NEWDELHI: In another demolition drive against encroachments on government land, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation on Friday razed the illegal extensions made by at least 80 shopkeepers at Khari Baoli.

The demolition drive was conducted by the special task force constituted by on the directions of the Supreme Court.

It was the third time in last 21 days that the civic agency carried out an anti-encroachment in area. During the drive, the civic agencies removed signages, tin sheds and other illegal structures put up by shop owners.

“Anti-encroachment squads found most of these tin sheds extended up to the pedestrian pathway while the signages were either oversized or damaged. These could hurt the pedestrians so we decided to remove them,” said Ruchika Katyal, deputy commissioner, citySadar Paharganj zone.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior North Corporation official said that shopkeepers had been told in the past to install signages of uniform size (above 2.5 square metre ) as allowed under the new Outdoor Advertisement Policy, but there had been no change in the situation. “Shopkeepers need to take permission from the advertisement department before installing big- ger signages,” he said.

The drive started around 9am from the main market and ended at Church Mission Road at 4pm. “We retrieved one kilometre of carriageway for the pedestrians during the action by removing the squatters and seizing the goods lying on sides of road,” the official said.

However, traders were not happy with the drive. “We want the roads and pavements to be encroachment free, but in the name of anti-encroachment drive they can’t remove all the signages installed outside shops. The action should be takes as per notified policy,” said Sanjay Bhargava, general secretary of Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal.

The South Corporation had also revisited the Aurobindo Marg on Friday and challaned nine cars and two auto rickshaws. The agency retrieved 6km of stretch and seized 30 temporary encroachments.

Action was also taken at Sewa Nagar Market, Lajpat Nagar and surrounding areas wherein 142 ramps and 50 temporary extensions were removed. In east Delhi, the civic agency removed illegal extensions outside shops in Gandhi Nagar, Akshardham and Pandav Nagar areas.

The three civic agencies cleared 15 kilometre of stretch, impounded 50 cars and removed at least 200 temporary and 150 permanent structures.