HC raps MCD for failing to shut down coaching centres violating norms

THE DELHI High Court on Friday expressed displeasure with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for failing to ensure strict compliance with the court's earlier directions regarding coaching centres operating without conforming to relevant laws. The HC was hearing a batch of matters related to the operations of coaching centres in Mukherjee Nagar, including a suo motu plea initiated by it in 2023, when it had taken cognisance of a fire incident at a coaching centre in a four-storey building in Mukherjee Nagar.

On April 5, the HC had directed the constitution of an independent inspecting team — headed by advocate Gautam Na ray an, the a mic us curiae appointed in the matter—to inspect the area and submit a report on the total number of coaching centres operating, and of those, how many were comp lying with the unified building bye-laws (ub bl ),2016, and the master plan of Delhi (MPD), 2021. Narayan stated that certain coaching centres, which were stated to have been shut down as per the MCD, were found operational under a new management or name.

During the course of the hearing, a division bench of justices Yashwant Varma and Ravinder Dudeja orally said: “You (MCD) are trying to nitpick the direction, which was to shut them down ... Shut it down and file a report. The job that the MCD is supposed to do, the a mic us curiae is doing. you created this mess. this is no time for clarification.” Narayan, meanwhile, submitted that inspection was carried out on two dates, and that the team had inspected 70 percent of mukherje en agar, nehru vi h ar, and several places in GTB (Guru Tegh Bahadur) Nagar. He further said that a lot of premises have been converted into establishments “referred to as libraries”, adding that these are rooms where cubicles are carved out for people to study.

After several hearings, the HC directed the MCD/ DDA (Delhi Development Authority) to forthwith take action to ensure that certain premises, which are non-compliant and in “violation” of the court's earlier “sealing direction” are sealed. It also called for a report by the authorities ,“not later than monday( april 13)”.