Begin de-sealing process: Traders

NEW DELHI: A traders’ body on Tuesday urged authorities to initiate the process of de-sealing of shops in Delhi, days after the government notified the amendments in the city’s Master Plan.

Various properties and shops in the national capital have been lying shut for the past several months after they were sealed by civic bodies at the instance of a Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee.

The government had on June 21 notified amendments in the Master Plan of Delhi 2021 which, among other benefits, will also allow shop-cum-residence complexes to continue with activities permissible in a local shopping centre, subject to conditions.

The Delhi Development Authority had processed the modifications seeking to bring relief to traders from the sealing drive that began late December at the Defence Colony market.

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) in a statement expressed satisfaction over the recent amendments, but sought to draw the attention of Union urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri and L-G Anil Baijal towards shops in various parts of the city that are still sealed.

There is an “urgent need to de-seal the shops” which can be, as per the amendments. The MCD should take cognisance of such shops and de-seal them as they now fall under the ambit of the Master Plan, the CAIT said in a statement.

CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal said t hat undoubtedly, the amendments will give relief to a large number of traders working in local commercial complexes and having godowns in agricultural land or in village areas. The DDA also needs to clarify, whether conversion charges are applicable for special areas, such as in the Walled City, Karol Bagh, Sadar Bazar and Paharganj, he said.