NEW DELHI: The
three-month concession period for
banks running
lockers in
basements in
violation of the
master plan is over. The Supreme Court-appointed
monitoring committee has now directed the three
corporations to issue a
public notice and seal these lockers.
The monitoring committee said it had asked the corporations to act against the banks which were still flouting the rules.
However, a three-day notice will be given to all such banks as sealing of these lockers would cause considerable inconvenience to the customers, said a committee member.
The three-member committee had, in Marh, provided a relaxation period till June 30 to let the errant banks move the lockers out of basements.
“If any bank has any doubt about the legality or otherwise regarding the use of basement for lockers, it can approach the monitoring committee for directions,” the order had stated. Even now a bank can approach the committee for any clarification, a member said.
If any bank is seen flouting the basement rule even now, action will be taken against it with immediate effect, the committee has said.
Following a Supreme Court order, the apex court-appointed committee initiated the sealing drive across the capital in December last year. Since then, several shops have been fully or partially sealed even at high-end markets like Defence Colony, Hauz Khas, Rajouri Garden, Greater Kailash and Sunder Nagar.
The sealing drive came to a standstill after DDA and the central government approved amendments to the master plan to provide relief to the traders’ community.
The committee had lashed out at the local bodies, claiming the sealing operation against illegal premises/properties came to a halt as the corporations and their allied authorities had refused to carry out its directions.
It had also slammed South Delhi Municipal Corporation for non-compliance of its orders and said the officials were adamant to stall sealing operations and not to follow the directions “intentionally and deliberately”.
Rerpresentative image.
