Plot thickens as traders, Huda spar over drive

The anti-encroachment drive against marble traders has kicked up a storm. While authorities have blamed shop owners for illegally operating from the Sikanderpur area despite having allotted land more than a decade ago, shopkeepers dismissed the claim saying they never got any plot.

The anti-encroachment drive against marble traders has kicked up a storm. While authorities have blamed shop owners for illegally operating from the Sikanderpur area despite having allotted land more than a decade ago, shopkeepers dismissed the claim saying they never got any plot.

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After a crackdown on marble shops in Sikanderpur, the authorities had launched a crackdown on shops in Sector 33-34 market near Rajiv Chowk on Sunday.

In 2004, the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) had allotted land to the 150 marble shop owners operating from Sikanderpur and Sheetla Mata Road in Sector 33-34. However, survey officials found that many shops had been using both sites for business and some were missing.

“Out of the total 150 shops, only 100 had shifted to the allotted area. We need to find why the remaining 50 never shifted,” said Mukesh Solanki, estate officer. “They had approached the Punjab and Haryana high court and it had allowed them to continue business from the old sites in 2004,” said Mahesh Arora, president of the Sikandarpur marble market association.