High-level meeting held to find 'viable solutions' for sealing drive

A high-level meeting attended by Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, LG Anil Baijal and DDA vice-chairman Udai Pratap, was held here today to find "viable solutions" for the ongoing sealing drive in the national capital, an official said.

The sealing drive by the BJP-run municipal corporations in Delhi was initiated in December last year on the direction of the apex court.

Commercial premises, including shops and restaurants, were sealed for failing to deposit conversion charges according to provisions in the Delhi Master Plan 2021.

"The meeting was held to discuss various issues related to the sealing drive and to find viable solutions for it," the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry official said.

Earlier, Puri flagged several flaws in the sealing drive in Delhi and said there were instances of properties for which conversion charges were paid being shut.

Yesterday, the minister had said that the members of the sealing committees worked in air-conditioned offices and did not know the ground realities.

Noting that the Delhi Master Plan 2021 was prepared in 2006 and there have been massive demographic changes since then, Puri had said the problem of Delhi has to be solved in "humane and constructive manner".

The minister had also exuded confidence that the Supreme Court would lift a stay on the proposed amendments by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in the Delhi Master Plan which was aimed at granting protection from the ongoing sealing drive in the national capital.

The proposal included bringing a uniform floor-area ratio (FAR) for shop-cum-residence plots and complexes at par with residential plots.

The FAR is the ratio of a building's total floor area to the size of the piece of land on which it is built.