Vijender Gupta demands halting of sealing drive in Delhi

BJP MLA Vijender Gupta today demanded that the ongoing sealing drive in the city be halted immediately and met Union Urban Development minister Hardeep Singh Puri over the issue.
The Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly said the meeting with Puri was fruitful and expressed hope that the issue would be resolved.
Municipal corporations in Delhi have undertaken the drive initiated by a Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee. Commercial premises have been sealed for failing to deposit conversion charges, for changing the category of land usage, such as from residential to commercial, according to provisions in the city's Master Plan 2021.

"A lawful and lasting solution must be found to remove the fear of sealing action," Gupta said and demanded that the drive be halted "immediately".
He said according to an August 2008 order sealing should be resorted to only after studying the action taken by the owner or occupier of the building.
There should be a 48-hour notice before the action, Gupta said, adding the idea was to ensure that there is no harassment or injustice.
"But the Monitoring Committee is not following the rule notwithstanding the fact that it was applicable to it also," he alleged.
Meanwhile, the Monitoring Committee has extended the last date for depositing the first instalment of conversion charge to January 15. Earlier, the last date for it was December 31.