Unauthorised constructions in the area to face action; locals say they are yet to be notified by authorities
Unauthorised constructions in the area to face action; locals say they are yet to be notified by authorities
Zeeshan Ahmed, 40, can see his life crumbling around him. About 200 families, including his, have been asked to vacate their respective houses in the Sujan Singh Park area, as according to the officials, the colony is illegal. Ahmed, who has been living in the area for the past 30 years, has a small tailoring shop of his own. According to civic officials, most of the unauthorised constructions, including two local schools, shops and residential colonies were to be sealed on Monday. However, nothing happened.
School's not out: Ardee School is one among the many properties
which were supposed to be sealed on Monday. PIC/Imtiyaz Khan
False alarm
"It was supposed to happen on Monday, but as usual nothing happened. The issue has been hanging over our heads for a while now. The school, which was to be sealed, was also working," said an official on the condition of anonymity.
Surprisingly, according to the residents, no notice was ever issued to them by any authority. According to reports, the land and development officer (L&DO) has issued notices to these establishments following guidelines of the Supreme Court's monitoring committee (for misuse of premises).
"We did not receive any notice about the sealing drive. All this is coming to us through the media. If we are living in an unauthorised colony, they should have at least informed us. How can we leave our house suddenly?" asked Ahmed. The colony is not just used for commercial purposes but is also a home to the around 200 families.
Down memory lane
Chandra, a resident of the unauthorised colony for the past 50 years said: "I have witnessed everything that happened in this colony all these years. All the kids grew up in front of my eyes. I have been a part of all the weddings here. Everyone respects me. We all are a family."
Residents claimed they have been running their businesses from the premises since the early 1940s when it was leased to a private company Sir Sobha Singh & Sons. Everyone in the colony talks about the pagdi system where they are under the control of Sir Sobha Singh who is the owner of the land since 1945. The people of the colony pay a certain amount to the landlord in the form of pagdi. But one mistake they said they made is the absence of any receipt which they could use as a proof that they are tenants to the landlord. There are some shops that came into existence some thirty to forty years ago and even today are not registered.
Traders from the area have also alleged discrimination by authorities, who sealed some of their establishments recently, but left untouched a luxury hotel in the same area despite identical condition applicable for both.
"We reiterate that the hotel has received no notice suggesting any interruption in our business. We would like to reassure our patrons that it is business as usual," the Taj Hotels (which own the particular property) spokesperson told MiD DAY.
Sujan Singh Park is located just 60 meters away from one of the world's most expensive retail locations, Khan Market. "The sealing will be done by land and development officer (L&DO). We have been just asked to provide them assistance," said Anand Tiwari, official spokesperson, NDMC.
Shutters down
The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), on January 8, sealed as many as 30 shops in Sujan Singh Park near Khan Market on grounds of property misuse. These had been operating out of garages in the residential area. The civic body said the action was carried out on the directions of L&DO and the Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee. More shops are likely to be sealed on Saturday, too. Meanwhile, shopkeepers in the area claimed they had been functioning from the area before 1962 and that the sealing of these shops would snatch away the livelihood of over 600 people. "We have been functioning from here before 1962. As per the Masterplan-2021, no shop functioning before 1962 should be sealed," said a trader, whose shop was being sealed.
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