New Delhi, Jan 23 (PTI) Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi on Tuesday said she has written a letter to the MCD commissioner asking him to initiate the process of de-sealing shops that have been sealed since 2017.
According to a resolution passed in the MCD House on January 17, the de-sealing of shops was supposed to be carried out on January 19.
Speaking at a press conference at the Civic Centre here, Oberoi said the de-sealing has been halted because Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Commissioner Gyanesh Bharti rejected the resolution passed by the MCD House.
"The livelihood of thousands of traders and shop owners has been impacted because of the sealing action. The MCD House passed a resolution to de-seal these shops to give relief to these traders but it was rejected by the commissioner," she said.
Shops and restaurants were sealed in several markets of Delhi during a drive by the MCD against violations of land use rules.
A judicial committee constituted by the Supreme Court on December 18 last year had directed the MCD to de-seal the shops stating that it cannot collect conversion charges on the sealed properties.
Following the orders of the committee, the MCD passed the first resolution in this regard during a special House meeting on December 28 last year, the corporation said in a statement.
The second resolution was passed on January 17.
Despite repeated directions to the commissioner to follow the orders of the committee and de-seal shops at the earliest, he has not complied with the court orders, the statement said.
"Apart from the House, no one has the power to reject a proposal... passed in the House," it added.
Meanwhile, the BJP asked the mayor to either start de-sealing shops or take punitive action against the commissioner for not allowing the process to begin.
The AAP is trying to avoid de-sealing so that it does not have to refund the amount charged by the corporation from traders for the violation of rules at the time of sealing the shops, the BJP charged in a statement.
The sealing drive took place in Defence Colony, Rajinder Nagar, Greater Kailash, Green Park, Hauz Khas and South Extension following orders of a monitoring committee constituted by the Supreme Court.