Delhi seeks relief from sealing
Thursday was a day of intense political activity at the Union Urban Development Ministry here as a large number of Delhi politicians, including Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, sought intervention of Union Minister S. Jaipal Reddy to provide relief from sealing to people living in the Capital’s 1,500 unauthorised colonies.
In his meeting with Ms. Dikshit, the Minister is learnt to have assured that the Centre would come out with a solution to the problem through legislation within the next ten days.
Mr. Reddy also met a delegation led by the Member of Parliament from Outer Delhi, Sajjan Kumar, and comprising MLAs Mukesh Sharma, Mahabal Mishra, Jai Kishan, Surender Kumar, Vijay Lochav, Mala Ram Gangwal and Anil Bharadwaj, Leader of Opposition in MCD Jai Kishan Sharma and about a dozen councillors.
The delegation submitted a memorandum to Mr. Reddy pointing out that the livelihood of a large number of people living in unauthorised colonies had been put at stake following the Supreme Court order directing closure of all commercial establishments there.
The delegation said the Centre should immediately bring forward a Bill during the current session of Parliament allowing continuation of commercial activities in the unauthorised colonies. It also called for immediate notification of regularisation of these colonies.
Mr. Reddy assured the delegation that the Centre, which has already provided relief to people through the new Master Plan for Delhi-2021, would take all possible steps to save unauthorised colonies from sealing and to regularise them.
Delhi Nationalist Congress Party president and MLA Ramvir Singh Bidhuri also met Union Minister of State Ajay Maken to demand that sealing operations in Delhi’s villages also be stopped through the legislation that was being proposed for providing immunity from sealing to unauthorised colonies.
Mr. Bidhuri said large-scale sealing of establishments was taking place in villages and rural parts of Delhi even though under the law there was no requirement for any sanctioned plan to construct buildings or run any activity. In such a scenario, he demanded that these villages and other rural areas of Delhi be also provided immunity from sealing operations along with the unauthorised colonies through the proposed Bill.