Sealing drive: 351 roads to be given mixed land use tag

NEW DELHI: To resolve the sealing drive issue, the Delhi government on Thursday said it will send to the Supreme Court files related on the roads that are to be notified under commercial and mixed-use categories.

If roads are notified under these categories, traders with their businesses on these stretches will escape the sealing drive, under progress in the city against business establishments that are using residential properties for commercial purposes without paying the conversion charges.

The Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government on Thursday said that it received files related to these roads on Tuesday.

"The files related to the 351 roads reached us on January 23. They are soon going to be sent to the Supreme Court for the notification," AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said.

Delhi Public Works Department Minister Satyendar Jain asked the Municipal Corporations of Delhi (MCDs) to make a detailed submission of the documents needed by January 22.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta accused the Delhi government of playing "narrow-minded politics" over the sensitive and serious issue of sealing.

South Delhi Mayor Kamaljeet Sehrawat said at a time when the people of Delhi are disturbed due to the ongoing sealing campaign, the Kejriwal government is trying to mislead the people on the conversion charge issue.

Speaking on the sealing issue, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ajay Maken said that due to the laxity of the MCDs and the government, the drive was destroying the livelihood of people.

Meanwhile, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari on Thursday said that the three MCDs will hold a joint emergency meeting on January 27 to pass a resolution for a six-month ban on the ongoing sealing drive in the national Capital.

Tiwari said the resolution passed by the MCDs will also provide for one-year time to the traders and residents to pay conversion charges and fulfil other formalities required for regularisation.

Delhi MCDs have undertaken the sealing drive initiated on the orders of a Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee.