Centre rules out ordinance to stop sealing, blames Congress, AAP

HT Correspondent

New Delhi

Blaming the Congress and the AAP government for the ongoing sealing drive in the Capital, Union housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri in a press conference on Monday ruled out the possibility of bringing an ordinance to stop sealing. He said the Centre has the statutory right to amend the Master Plan and the solution to the current problem can be found within the ambit of the Master Plan.

To provide relief to city residents from sealing, Puri said that the Centre has submitted its affidavit on amendments made to the Master Plan to the Supreme Court on Monday.

“Petty politics is being played over sealing. But it was the Congress which was in power all these years. The AAP has been in power since 2015. What they could not do in all these years, we have managed to find a solution in two months... the executive is more proactive now,” Puri told reporters.

He added that both these parties were aware of the problem but now they want an ordinance. “The people who are demanding an ordinance should know that when Parliament is in session you can’t bring an ordinance,” he said.

Puri said the Master Plan can address the issues thrown up by the ongoing sealing drive. “DDA has prepared its response to nine issues raised by the amicus curiae and has submitted its affidavit today. DDA is requesting the court that the issues raised by the amicus may not be confined to issues of environment, congestion parking, etc. thereby leaving the major issue of shelter as well as livelihood of the major population of the Delhi and the ground realities existing in the city,” the minister said.

While elaborating the government’s roadmap on how it plans to address the sealing issue, Puri made it clear that people who have encroached on government land will not get any relief.

Delhi lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal along with the three municipal commissioners and DDA’s vice-chairman Uday Pratap Singh also attended the press conference.

Reacting to what Puri and Baijal said in the press conference, AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “The Delhi L-G Anil Baijal is supporting the ongoing sealing drive on the ground that it is against people who have committed illegalities.It is strange as he is also the chairman of DDA and is supposed to find a solution to the sealing drive. The AAP again reiterates its demand to the Central government for bringing ordinance/bill to stop sealing immediately.”