Come July 5, Goel to take out march to save havelis of Chandni Chowk

Describing Chandni Chowk as becoming worse than Dharavi of Mumbai, Union Minister of State for  Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel on Monday said he will march on July 5 demanding Shahjahanabad development board to take prompt action to save the havelis of Chandni Chowk and to prevent the area from illegal construction.

"The Chandni Chowk, which should have been included in the UNESCO Heritage List, has become as crappy and dirty like Mumbai's slum Dharavi" said the Minister.

Attacking Delhi Government, he said, "The entire Cabinet of the Delhi Government did not do anything except protest against the Lieutenant Governor. If they protest here in the Chandni Chowk, then at least they could know about the problems."

Goel said 'Shahjahanabad Development Board' of the Delhi Government is responsible for the development of the area but the Board has only passed the proposals in the meetings.

Apart from the Delhi Government, the former BJP president also condemned Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) officials for not being able to stop illegal constructions. He said he had complained to the municipal commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner of the area about the rest of the havelis of the Chandni Chowk but no action was being taken.

"The biggest example of corruption in the municipal corporation is the building adjacent to the Town Hall. The building was so weak and a structure on its first floor fell down recently. Now a big casket shaped building has been constructed on it, which looks like the black spot on the beauty of this area,” the Minister said.

 Goel said his biggest concern is the destruction of a Havelis every day. In the previous survey of Delhi Government 551 havelis were marked. “These havelis are now being destroyed every day and are turning into a market and the metro has become the saviour of Chandni Chowk. According to the Minister, when he last visited the place, he found that havelis were getting destroyed one by one in 'Kucha Patiram' in Sitaram Bazaar and now the havelis in Balimaran are also being destroyed.