If the Inner Circle of Connaught Place has to be made vehicle-free, as the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) is planning, then encroachments must be removed for three months, said traders of the iconic commercial centre on Thursday.
Fear of revenue loss
The NDMC is getting ready to pedestrianise the Inner Circle and Middle Lanes of Connaught Place in a pilot project to reduce congestion. However, traders have opposed the move since it was announced by Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu in January, citing potential loss of revenue.
On Thursday, during a meeting of stakeholders, the New Delhi Traders’ Association told the NDMC that it would continue to oppose the plan. “We suggested that first the illegal encroachments and vendors that have taken up public land be removed and be kept away for at least three months. If that is successful, then we are open to pedestrianisation of the Inner Circle, provided the parking lots are made accessible from the radial roads,” said Vikram Badhwar, honorary secretary of the association.
‘It’s an experiment’
According to NDMC officials, talks are still on with the stakeholders. A senior official said that while the traders and restaurant owners opposed the plan, smaller vendors had welcomed it. The official added that if the plan, which is supposed to come into effect later this month, runs into trouble, it would be scrapped. “It’s an experiment,” the official reiterated.
