MCD notifies fresh list of 200 commercial/mixed use roads

New Delhi, Sep 14 (UNI) With the September 16 Supreme Court deadline for sealing shops in residential areas two days away and final notification of nearly 2000 roads, designated by MCD on Monday as commercial and mixed use areas, still awaited, uncertainty continues over the fate of lakh of shops in the capital.

MCD Councillors, cutting across party lines at the standing committee meeting urged the Delhi Government and Lt Governor B L Joshi to notify the roads designated by the Corporation as commercial or for mixed land use before September 16 so as to provide relief to shopkeepers in Delhi living under the fear of sealing on the expiry of the court's deadline.

The concern was voiced even as the Standing Committee today notified another 204 roads as commercial and mixed use areas, which included 185 roads in C and D colonies and additional 19 roads in E, F and G colonies.

Speaking at the meeting, chairman of the Standing committee Jai Kishen Sharma said,''Our utmost efforts will be to ensure that the 2000 roads desgnated on Monday and those cleared today were notified by the Lt Governor at the earliest''.

''We are trying to ensure that the notification, also containing the list of roads notified today, comes before the September 16 deadline fixed by the Supreme Court,''Mr Sharma said.

Leader of the House Jitender Kochar said he had met members of the Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee on Tuesday to urge them to take a decision before September 16 on desealing shops of traders who had submitted affidavits that they would shift to trades which were exempted under the Amended Master Plan.

Mr Kochar said he also suggested that the Deputy commissioners of various zones in Delhi be given the power to deseal such shops after carrying out a survey of the areas falling under their respective zones.

He said he had also urged the committee to make clear the situation on whether commercial activities could be carried out in the basement of residential premises.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Mr Sharma said MCD leaders would meet Lt Governor Joshi today to urge him to issue a notification of comemrcial/mixed use areas at the earliest.

Standing Committee member Vijender Gupta said the delay in the issuance of notification by the LG had led to an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty among traders, who feared the arrival of MCD sealing squads at their shops on the expiry of the Supreme Court deadline.

''This state of fear and uncertainty should come to an end and the notification issued at the earliest,''he said.

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