Another Chandni Mahal in the making?

This could be another Chandni Mahal in the making. A five-storey building is coming up in the crowded Chandni Chowk area, barely 20meters from the Town Hall (which houses MCD offices) and a Delhi Police ACP's office.

This could be another Chandni Mahal in the making. A five-storey building is coming up in the crowded Chandni Chowk area, barely 20meters from the Town Hall (which houses MCD offices) and a Delhi Police ACP's office.

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The building where illegal construction is being carried out is part of a plot situated in main Chandni Chowk area, opposite Katra. However, it has not been served any notice by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

The entire structure has been covered with a blue plastic sheet by the builder. The plot houses several shops on the ground floor. Two old floors already exist here and two more floors have been added by the builder.

This is illegal since the MCD had not been sanctioning any building plan in the Chandni Chowk area, since plots here have been sub-divided among various owners.

"Even the Chandni Mahal collapse has not deterred them. The construction is carried out at night using floodlights," said a source. Krishna Kumar, deputy commissioner, City zone, said he will conduct an enquiry into the incident.

"Keeping a tab on each and every building is difficult as illegal construction in Chandni Chowk is rampant. We will issue a stop work notice to them tomorrow," he said.

Meanwhile, ACP Kotwali said she was not aware of any such construction and refused to comment on it. A Special Task Force (STF) was also constituted by the Delhi government to monitor illegal constructions across the city. But even that has proved to be of little help.

The civic agency has been making tall claims of taking action against illegal construction. But this year, so far, the City zone has taken action against only 26 properties.

This is happening at a time when illegal construction is being carried out in 100 buildings in Old Delhi.