House panel asks civic commissioners to give conversion charge

The Delhi Assembly's special committee on municipal corporations today asked all the three civic commissioners to submit details of the collection and utilisation of conversation charges and parking fees.
The move comes two days after Speaker Ram Niwas Goel referred various contentious issues including an ongoing sealing drive by the civic bodies to the special committee of the House.
Since last month, the three BJP-led municipal corporations have been sealing commercial establishments around the city for various reasons, including failure to pay conversion charges.
Sources said that in today's meeting, the committee's members asked about the amount collected from conversion charges, parking charges and penalties over the years and its utilisation.

"All the three municipal commissioners did not have the details and in view of this, they have been asked to submit the same in the next meeting of committee," one of the sources said.
The next meeting of the committee may be held on January 23 or 24.
On Tuesday, AAP legislators in the Delhi Assembly had alleged that the BJP-led civic bodies did not have details of over Rs 1,000 crore collected as conversion charges from traders over the last few years.
Taking part in the discussion on the sealing drive, Labour Minister Gopal Rai said that the BJP-led central government should do away with conversion charges to give a relief to traders.