South Delhi corporation to start de-sealing process of commercial units from Monday

The civic agency has prepared a set of guidelines to be followed by the owners whose commercial units were sealed. These will be presented before the civic body’s standing committee for approval on Monday.

From Monday, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) will start the process of regularising commercial units in local markets that were sealed in the last 9 months.

File photo of a sealed shop in South Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar IV. (Vipin Kumar/HT File Photo)

The civic agency has prepared a set of guidelines to be followed by the owners whose commercial units were sealed. These will be presented before the civic body’s standing committee for approval on Monday. Last month, the civic body had made public the guidelines that needed to be followed if the owner of a property wanted their establishment de-sealed.

After SDMC gets an approval from the committee, each case of sealed property will be sent to the Supreme Court appointed monitoring committee, which will either approve or deny permission for de-sealing.

Over the last nine months, around 6,500 commercial units across the city — in prominent markets like Hauz Khas, Defence Colony, Greater Kailash and Green Park — were sealed by the civic agency for land use violation.

SDMC has started the process to de-seal properties despite the guidelines coming under the scanner of Supreme Court on August 24. A bench, led by Justice MB Lokur, had said that the guidelines virtually implemented the amended Master Plan of Delhi that has been put on hold by the apex court.

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation will also come out with similar guidelines for regularisation of sealed properties in their jurisdiction this week, a senior official said.

While members of a Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee, on whose orders the municipal corporations conducted the sealing drive, said that no de-sealing can happen until the norms of Delhi Master Plan 2021 are followed, traders affected by the sealing drive have demanded a joint meeting with the Delhi Development Authority, MCD and monitoring committee members for more clarity in the matter.

“I have said earlier also that the matter is still in the apex court and its approval is necessary before implementing any decision. Also, any file or case related with the de-sealing of property is not going to be entertained by us until all norms — including those involving parking facility, fire safety and stability of building — are followed,” said a member of the committee who asked not to be named.

The new guidelines allow the use of basements, mezzanine, first, second and third floors for commercial activities — one of the biggest reasons behind the sealing drive in the Capital launched in December subsequent to top court’s orders. No commercial activities will be allowed beyond the third floor.

“We have already asked for files from affected shopkeepers. After the standing committee’s approval, we will send their cases to the monitoring committee for temporary de-sealing of shops. The idea is to allow traders to make changes in their shops as per guidelines and apply for regularisation,” said a senior SDMC official.

Traders, meanwhile, said that there is need for more clarity on this issue. “We are looking forward to the de-sealing exercise and are ready to submit documents as desired by the corporation. But it will be better if a joint session of DDA, municipal corporation and monitoring committee is called to clarify the criteria for regularisation or de-sealing,” said Vijay Israni, vice-president of Greeen Park Market Association.