The spectre of sealing of unauthorised commercial establishments from June 1 was on Monday deferred till June 30 with the MCD officials telling the Standing Committee that there was no question of resuming sealing before the last date of paying conversion charges for changing the land use of the shopping centres in question.
The matter came up for discussion after several councillors raised the matter in the standing committee meeting, being chaired for the first time by the newly-elected chairman Yogender Chandolia. Responding to the councillors’ concern, MCD’s additional commissioner R.K. Srivastava told the committee that there was no question of sealing resuming before the last date of paying the conversion charges, which was June 30.
Earlier, the Damocles’ sword of sealing had been hanging over the traders with the Supreme Court-appointed committee on sealing directing the MCD to resume from June 1 sealing of those premises for which conversion charges have not been paid.
At least 40 per cent of the traders had reportedly not paid the conversion charges.
The MCD officials have also been maintaining that the DDA was yet to notify the conversion charges for different areas, whose land use was changed from “residential” to “mixed land use”. Until then, it would not be fair on the part of the corporation to resume sealing, said the officials.
Mr Chandolia said that the MCD did not want to burden the traders with sealing and the system will be streamlined for facilitating payment of conversion charges.
Incidentally, a drive launched in March to seal commercial properties for which conversion charges have not been paid, had fetched good dividends to the MCD as several defaulters turned up for payment, along with new registrations under the mixed land use.
Several zones had reported increased number of people turning up to the extent that within 10 days, the MCD’s central zone raked in Rs 8.9 crores in March. Other zones too had reported increased receipts.