30 marble shops sealed at Chhatarpur

NEW DELHI: South Delhi Municipal Corporation continued with its sealing drive on Wednesday and shut 30 marble shops along with general stores and eateries in Chhatarpur on the charges of violating Master Plan 2021.
The sealing drive is being carried out as per the orders of the monitoring committee appointed by the Supreme Court to look into the matter of misuse of land.
On Wednesday, the shops were sealed for using agricultural land to run commercial activities.However, the sudden action prompted a protest from the shop owners and workers. Kamal Agarwal, owner of a marble shop, said, “The civic body should at least give us a notice before carrying out a sealing drive. We have goods worth several crores lying in the shops. What will happen to them?”
Deputy commissioner Vishwender Kumar said the corporation would have to seal around 120 shops in the area and it would take a couple of days to finish the task. “The shops have been booked for misuse of land as per Master Plan 2021. The land is meant for agricultural purpose but rampant commercial activities are being carried out for the past several years. We are acting on the orders of the monitoring committee,” said Kumar.
While the owners protested against the monitoring committee order, additional forces were deployed to control their outburst. Hiralal, owner of another marble shop, said, “Thousands of workers have come from different states to work here and their livelihood depends on us. Where will they go? We are going to protest against the order and, if required, will challenge it in the Supreme Court.”
Vinod Mittal, another marble shop owner, alleged that no action had been taken since the sealing drive in 2006-07. “We had received no intimation in these years from the corporation. SDMC should at least have informed us. They have woken up from their deep slumber only because the Supreme Court-appointed committee has directed them to,” said Mittal.
SDMC first went to the area on Tuesday but faced stiff resistance from the shop owners and workers. Officials had to postpone the drive due to lack of police force.