HC approves plan to beautify road leading to Lal Qilla

New Delhi, Sep 28 (UNI) The Delhi High Court today approved the plan submitted by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for the removal of unauthorised shops and beautify the Diwan Hall Road in Chandni Chowk near the historic Lal Qilla.

A division bench of acting Chief Justice Vijender Jain and Justice Rekha Sharma appreciated the plan submitted by the City Zone Deputy Commissioner Vijay Singh to beautify the area in a month's time.

The Court directed the 53 shop owners, who had been allotted shops in 1947-48 after the independence of the country, to extend cooperation to the authorities.

The Court Commissioner submitted that more than 153 unauthorised shops on both sides of the road had been removed.

Petitioner advocate Arun Khosla, alleged that the Diwan Hall Road was about 120 feet wide, but due to encroachments by the shop keepers the accessible raod was now only 18 feet wide.

The MCD had issued licences to about 300 persons for setting up kiosks and tehbazari (open shops) on the road in contravention to the Delhi master plan.

On the matter of Lajpat Rai Market, the Urban Develoment Ministry submitted that the shops had been allotted by the Rehabilitation Department of the Union Home Ministry after the partition of the country.

The relevant information about the allottment of the shops had been sought from the Home Ministry, submitted the government counsel.

The court asked the authorities to submit the information by November 9, the next date of hearing, so as to decide the matter pertaining to the unauthorised constuctions in the market complex.

The Court had directed the Secretary of the Union Urban Development Ministry to file an affidavit indicating the total area of the Lajpat Rai Market on the other end of the road and rights of the owners who had set up shops.

The market, which was originally constructed as an one-storied building, has illegally added three more floors above and two more below the ground level.

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