No sealing of commercial units till SC decision: MCD

New Delhi, Aug 21 (UNI) Leader of the House in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi Subhash Arya today reiterated that there would be no sealing of commercial units in unauthorised colonies till a final decision in this regard by the Supreme Court.

Talking to newspersons after a meeting of an MCD delegation with Union Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy on the issue, Mr Arya and Standing Committee Chairman Vijender Gupta said,''the MCD is determined not to carry out any sealing on commercial units in unauthorised colonies till a decision on the petitions filed by the MCD and the centre in the matter.'' It is notable that the Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee had, on August 14, written a letter to the MCD and the DDA directing that sealing action be taken on commercial units in unauthorised colonies built on government and private lands as well as those on non notified areas.

The Delhi Police have also been asked to provide the necessary force to the MCD.

Mr Arya said Mr Reddy told them the Centre had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court today urging the Court to put a halt on the sealing, mentioning that the Master Plan 2021 provides for regularisation of 1500 unauthorised colonies and that the process for their regularisation was on.

He said the MCD had also petitioned the apex court today urging it to stop the sealing of commercial units in unauthorised colonies.

The DDA will also file a similar petition in the apex court tomorrow.

Mr Gupta and Mr Arya said they had urged Mr Reddy that the process for the regularisation of unauthorised colonies be speeded up so that the poor and middle class people living in these colonies be provided relief from sealing.

Mr Gupta and Mr Arya said carrying out sealing in unauthorised colonies would deprive residents of these areas, who belong to the middle or the lower middle class of society, of their sole means of livelihood.

Asked whether the failure of the MCD to carry out sealing in these areas, as per the order of the Monitoring Committee, would not amount to the contempt of court, Mr Arya said, the MCD had put forth their viewpoint before the Supreme Court in this regard.

In a letter issued on August 14 to the MCD and the DDA, the Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee had ordered that the sealing action in the above areas be started immediately.

The Delhi Police has also been asked to provide the necessary force to the MCD.

Mr Gupta and Mr Arya also urged the Urban Development Ministry to accelerate the process of regulation of the unauthorised colonies to ensure relief to people of these areas.

UNI