Need space for storage facilities: MCD tells L-G

The MCD has written to Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor, seeking his intervention in resolving the traders’ difficulty in finding space for storage, godowns, warehouses and cold storage. The move is expected to decongest the walled city.

The MCD has written to Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor, seeking his intervention in resolving the traders’ difficulty in finding space for storage, godowns, warehouses and cold storage. The move is expected to decongest the walled city.

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Chairman of the Master Plan 2021 (MPD) implementation committee, Ved Prakash Gupta said as per the redevelopment plan in MPD-2021, wholesale trade from old Delhi markets such as Naya Bazar, Khari Baoli, Karol Bagh, Chandni Chowk and Lajpat Rai Market were supposed to be shifted to the outskirts of Delhi.

The areas which were identified for the purpose included Loni Road, Rohini Phase IV and V, Dwarka and Narela.

Gupta pointed out that close to 20% of Delhi’s wholesale trade enterprises were located in the Walled City, accounting for around 12% of the employment. “In order to decentralise the wholesale trade, the planned markets were developed at Azadpur, Naraina, Okhla, Narela, Keshavpuram. After notification of MPD-2021, these storage houses were supposed to be rehabilitated. But it has still not been done so far. There is a need to take up this matter seriously,” Gupta added.

Delhi’s economic survey 2001-2002 reveals that 37,000 wholesale enterprises are providing employment to 160,000 persons. In addition to this, there are about 6,500 storage houses and warehouses, providing employment to 27,000 persons.