Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders will march to the Parliament House on Monday to register their protest on the ongoing sealing being carried out by the three Municipal Corporations.
Corporation officials have sealed hundreds of shops and restaurants across the city on the instructions of the empower monitoring committee of the Supreme Court headed by retired bureaucrat Bhure Lal.
With the budget session of the Parliament commending on Monday, the politics on sealing is likely to hot up.
According to an AAP leader, the march to the Parliament will be demanding urgent and concrete action by the Union Government to immediately put an end to sealing of markets in the National Capital.
Chief spokesperson of AAP’s Delhi unit Saurabh Bharadwaj said his party kept on saying the ongoing sealing drive in Delhi was to due to conversion charges and changes are required in the Delhi Master Plan 2021.
Both of these (conversion charges and Delhi Master Plan 2021) are under the purview of the three Municipal Corporations, being ruled by the BJP, and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Bharadwaj said.
Conversion charge is the amount one pays to convert one category of property to another, for example from residential to commercial.
Bharadwaj said AAP leaders would march to Parliament on Monday and try to put pressure on the Centre to bring in an ordinance in this regard.
Municipal Corporations in Delhi have undertaken the sealing drive initiated by a Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee. Commercial premises have been sealed for failing to deposit conversion charges according to provisions in Master Plan 2021.
Meanwhile, the traders' associations have decided to observe 48 hours bandh in the city on February 2 and 3 in protest against the ongoing sealing drive.
The announcement to observe shut down by the traders associations came in the backdrop of the three Municipal Corporations in Delhi holding a Special Joint Session on Saturday and passed a pro-traders' resolution to request the Supreme Court to halt the sealing drive for at least six months.
500 prominent trade bodies, under the umbrella of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) have also urged the Union Government to bring a Bill in Budget Session of Parliament to protect traders' interests.
Talking to The Pioneer, CAIT secretary general Praveen Khandelwal said, “During their 48 hours bandh, traders will hold protest marches and dharnas in their respective markets.
“Prior to this, a delegation will also meet all the seven MPs and MLAs of Delhi and submit memoranda. Besides, the traders will also give memoranda to prominent leaders of all political parties,” he said.
Khandelwal protested against the manner in which the sealing drive is being undertaken without giving any notice or opportunity of hearing to traders.
Also the monitoring committee is acting in a high handed manner and is not willing to entertain any request from the traders who are the worst sufferers, he added.