The Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) proposed amendments to give relief to the traders in the city against the sealing of their shops, might have been welcomed by several market associations but they said that if the drives do not stop immediately, the strikes will restart.
The traders had called for a three-day Delhi bandh from Friday to Sunday where shops remained closed. On the first day of the strike, the DDA had made alterations to the floor area ratio (FAR), which will bring a halt to the sealing ordered by the Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee and the municipalities.
‘Proposal unclear’
Many trader groups said that the proposals by the DDA were unclear and the agency needs to clarify their stand on the nitty-gritty of the proposal and explain to the traders that how the proposal will solve the demands that were put forth by them.
Brijesh Goyal, convenor of the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI), said that if till February 10 no relief is brought for the traders the strike would resume.
“Hopefully, we will be given relief. Of what we have understood, the proposal looks confusing and seems to have been brought about in haste. The authorities had ample time to work out a solution for us but kept pushing it till we decided to call the bandh,” Mr. Goyal said.
The CTI has also sent out a list of suggestions to the DDA as a part of their public hearing.
The suggestions included the complete withdrawal of the late fees penalty and interest on conversion and parking charges, to provide special status to areas within the Walled City, and the immediate notification of 351 roads for mixed and commercial land use.
Keeping in mind the alterations by the Delhi Development Authority, the three municipalities refrained from continuing the sealing drives on Monday.
