Cars piled up at an SDMC storage space
The civic bodies are in a fix as they want to increase fines of items they confiscate during encroachment drives, but fear this could mean people stop claiming them — and as a result, storage space for such items runs out. A senior official of the South Corporation said that except for Najafgarh, spaces where they dump items that are confiscated is filling up fast. This is a fallout of anti-encroachment drives being carried at a faster pace for the last 10 days.
In the last 10 days, the North corporation has seized 1,550 items and impounded 231 vehicles; East has seized more than 600 items and impounded 200 vehicles; and South has seized 242 vehicles and more than 125 illegal carts.
“During a high-level meeting, the proposal to make changes in the Delhi Municipal Act and raise the fine was discussed, but there was the fear that this might lead to a lot of people not coming to collect collect their items,” the official said.
The corporation levies fines up to Rs 600 for items seized from vendors, while the rate for cars and vehicles is up to Rs 2,000.
The South civic body has space at 10 locations; North at 12 places and East at four locations.
An official of the North Corporation said they have conducted multiple drives in places such as New Delhi Railway Station, Karol Bagh and Chandni Chowk, yet the squatters come back as the civic body does not have enough enforcement power.
He cited a 2006 letter written by the Deputy Commissioners of Police to senior officers, which states: “Please instruct all SHOs that action should be taken to clear all encroachments except those who have tehbazaris. Police officers should ensure surprise inspections are regularly done.”
South Corporation’s Leader of House Kamaljeet Shehrawat said, “The corporation staff’s duty ends in the evening and most vendors come around night hours. Police officers are the one who can keep constant vigil.”
Officials said that after clearing each area, they send a picture of the stretch to the police station concerned.
Mayor Narendar Chawla said the corporation is also working on demarcating land so that a dedicated area can be fixed for street vendors.
Delhi police chief spokesperson Dependra Pathak said, “The encroachment drive and the duty to ensure the problem does not resurface is not just of the MCD, but also the Special Task Force, which is a joint effort by civic agencies such as PWD, DDA, MCD and police. Police are ensuring that encroachment does not resurface and will continue to do so. Once major encroachments are cleared from major roads, police will conduct inspections every day.”