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Demolition issue stalls Parliament business

      New Delhi: Opposition parties on Thursday stalled proceedings of the Parliament over demolition of unauthorised constructions in the national capital. The Opposition led by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) shouted slogans and staged a protest inside the Upper House, forcing the Chairman to adjourn the house. The Opposition maintained that the bill that was supposed to be introduced in the house, as a path breaking solution for the demolition drive here was unnecessarily delayed. "The bill was not listed in the Upper and the Lower Houses. It is not even listed for tomorrow, Friday. It was not mentioned in the Business Advisory Committee also. They delayed the session by saying that there was no Hindi version of the bill. They do not realise that every moment is important for New Delhi, as there are several sealing of the shops and demolition drive is going on. The day Prime Minister declared there would be no demolitions, the same day 500 houses were demolished. Government is responsible for the adjournment of the house," said Vijay Kumar Malhotra, BJP spokesperson.

     However, the Urban Affairs Minister, Jaipal Reddy, condemned the BJP's act to stall the Parliament's proceedings, saying this position of BJP was "politically outrageous and immoral". "In Delhi, there are many burning issues, which are there because of dismal failure of earlier NDA government. We have brought forward an important bill that will take care of the shopkeepers, slum dwellers, hawkers and punish those who are involved into unauthorised construction. I gave a notice yesterday and also it was told to the press. The bill could have introduced today and passed also but Bharatiya Janata Party took an objection to it and did not let the discussion go on because there was no Hindi version of the bill. They had organised a shutdown outside the parliament. This position of BJP is politically outrageous and immoral," said Reddy. For the past few months, Delhi has been under a virtual siege as the Municipal Corporation (MCD) sealed shops and commercial establishments in residential areas, many of them decades old and located in the heart of the city. The sealing of shops and demolitions were being carried out on the orders of the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court.

    The key bill is expected to circumvent the court ruling to provide some relief to the shopkeepers, who have been on a war path since the demolition drive started. The Centre had also appointed a panel to suggest amendments to the city's Master Plan. The Union Urban Development Ministry had issued a notification amending the 2001 Delhi Master Plan, allowing small shops to continue commercial activities on ground floors in residential areas under what was to be mixed land use policy but the apex court has not accepted the changes so far. The Bill also provides for the rehabilitation of 350,000 hawkers and 600,000 slum areas in the national capital. Traders' bodies, however, say that the closure would affect over 70,000 people directly making a living and accused the MCD of having played foul. The shop owners have claimed that the civic body has misled the court and even legal shops and basements being used simply as storage spaces are not being spared.