Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Sealing operations

It is gratifying to note that the sealing of commercial establishments operating in residential areas by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has gone on without any hitch for two days. The Supreme Court deserves praise for standing firm on the issue and refusing to give in to traders' pressure.

J. Eden Alexander,
Thanjavur

The editorial "On sealing and social costs" (Nov. 8) focusses on the situation that has arisen from the sealing operations but does not go into the genesis of the problem. There have been severe malpractices in the MCD ever since India gained independence and the results are there for all to see. The businessmen having sown the wind are reaping the whirlwind.

If municipal bigwigs and their minions have been enriching themselves over the last five decades under the very nose of our illustrious string of Prime Ministers, who is to blame for the present crisis?

N. Khosla,
Panchkula

The blame for the state of affairs should go to the political class (the executive and the legislature) for not upholding the law and, on top of it, pretending to be helpless victims. It has neither expressed any remorse for its mistakes of the past nor has it shown any sincerity in arriving at a solution that respects the law.

S. Balasubramanian,
Bangalore

Should unlawful activities, hitherto ignored, be allowed to go on unchecked or should they be stopped at some stage? Both involve social costs — one corresponds to the aggrandising class and the other to the larger mass of law-abiding citizens. Viewed in this context, the court has done its duty while the executive became ineffective at the crucial time.

U. Muralikrishna,
Visakhapatnam

Any illegal activity or establishment should be curbed in the initial stages. Once the structure is built, be it a house or commercial establishment, people move in and it ceases to be just brick and mortar. It becomes a living unit. Can such establishments be uprooted all on a sudden when so much money, energy, and emotions have gone into their making?

It is inhuman to uproot long-established families for non-observance of certain building rules, which the authorities themselves were not serious about enforcing. Justice must be tempered with mercy.

V. Nantha Kumar,
Chennai

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