AAP slams BJP councillors over plan to issue permanent licences to restaurants

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday alleged that the BJP-ruled municipal corporations want to issue permanent licences to restaurants on roadsides and on government land.

“All the citizens are aware that Delhi suffers from traffic congestion across the city. We also know that there are a lot of illegal shops which are encroachments and which were set up with the support of the BJP-ruled civic bodies. Now, the BJP-ruled SDMC has come up with a scheme to issue permanent licences to the restaurants. The SDMC has already passed it in the House. I had a word with various RWAs and they are really disturbed with this scheme,” said AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj.

‘Illegal money’

He alleged that as per this scheme, these licences can be issued only by the local councillors, making it clear that it is an open opportunity for BJP councillors to earn crores of “illegal money”.

“This shows that before leaving the municipal corporation, the BJP wants to monetise every inch of land in the city. The BJP-ruled civic bodies are trying to set up permanent restaurants on all the land available under its jurisdiction,” he said.

The AAP leader said that the BJP-ruled corporations must take cognisance of the residents’ opinions on the issue before taking any decision. “The AAP also demands that the BJP immediately roll back this scheme,” Mr. Bharadwaj said.