Assembly committee to look into sealing drive

A special committee of the Delhi Assembly will look into a sealing drive currently on in the city and allegations of corruption by BJP- led municipal corporations in the process, Speaker Ram Niwas Goel said on Tuesday.

Mr Goel referred the matter to the existing nine- member committee headed by AAP legislator Bhavna Gaur and asked it to submit a report in the next Assembly session. The ongoing sealing drive was discussed in the Assembly for most of the past two days with the ruling AAP and the opposition BJP blaming each other for the drive.

Meanwhile, basement units of 50 shops in south Delhi’s posh Defence Colony market were on Tuesday sealed by the area’s civic body for alleged misuse of property, officials said.

The sealing action was carried out by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation ( SDMC) on the instruction of a Supreme Court- appointed monitoring committee.

“Basement units were sealed in 50 shops at the Defence Colony market for misuse of property,” a senior SDMC official said.

The building department of the central zone of the civic body sealed the basements despite minor resistance from traders.

Incidentally, the members of the committee earlier in the day, met to decide on the future course of action in connection with the sealing drive. Sources said, a top official of the SDMC, representatives of the Defence Colony Market Association were present at the meeting.