Delhi Sealing: Why Did the Govt Levy Taxes If Shops Were Illegal?

Local shopkeepers and traders have constantly been protesting against Delhi sealing

Double storey market, Lajpat Nagar, Delhi

(Photo: The Quint)

For the last three months, shops and businesses are getting sealed in Delhi. Many shopkeepers and traders have come on the road and have constantly been protesting against sealing.

Recently, the Supreme Court ordered to seal thousands of shops in different markets of Delhi.

The Quint reaches Lajpat Nagar's double-storey market to find out more on the issue. Around 450 shops have been sealed there. Businesspeople say that they did not receive any prior notice regarding the sealing.

We were neither given any notice nor were we given anything in writing. Just that in the night, we were asked to empty our shops because sealing would take place in the morning. 

Shopkeeper

Sealing of shops had started in 2006 when Sheila Dixit was in power. According to master plan 2021, commercial shops were to be closed down.

It’s a 35-40-year-old market, so it’s not like we built it in a fortnight. We have been paying all bills for all these years and are emotionally attached to this market.

Shopkeeper

In 2005, High court ordered to take actions against illegal construction.. The matter then reached High court due to Municipal Corporation Delhi’s behaviour.

The Supreme Court ordered to seal all illegal constructions in 2006. After which, many sealings took place. There were many tussles between the police and the shopkeepers, where four people died in it too.

The issue got bigger when the government in 2006 introduced convergent charge rule for shops and commercial properties. SC ceased sealing for sometime then.

The issue was raised yet again when the SC ordered to form a monitoring committee to seal shops and properties. The shops that had not given convergent charge were sealed.

Now shopkeepers demand that government should take immediate actions. According to them, its not justified to collect convergent charge from local shopping centres, since they are commercial. They should not be sealed either.