The bench of Justice Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta came down heavily on the Centre saying it was changing the Master Plan of Delhi-2021 at the drop of a hat to protect those who have committed illegalities by making unauthorised constructions. The apex court made it clear that commercial establishments like restaurants and big showrooms cannot continue in residential areas in violation of the law as the authorities cannot put the lives of citizens of Delhi in danger. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) A N S Nadkarni who appeared for the Centre, suggested that the SC monitor the issues, He further stated that the SC has monitored various issues in the past, the bench shot back stating that the government was doing nothing and that is why the judiciary had to monitor things.
On 2nd April, the bench had slammed the Centre and other government authorities over their inability to stop encroachment in Delhi. The court expressed anguish over the protest against the ongoing sealing drive in the national capital and said there is a complete breakdown of law and order in the city. It further rapped the government by saying it is playing with the life of people in Delhi.
On March 6 Supreme Court had put on hold any further move by Delhi Development Authority to amend the Delhi Master Plan 2021 aimed to give relief to commercial establishments from sealing. The process had stayed as the bench was angry with the DDA as it had not filed an affidavit as per the court’s order on February 9. The DDA later filed an affidavit giving a point by point reply to nine questions put by the bench if various assessments like environmental impact, traffic, congestion and other safety aspects were made before going ahead with the amendment.
The DDA has recently proposed bringing uniform floor area ratio (FAR) for shop-cum-residence plots and complexes at par with residential plots, a move that would give respite to traders facing the threat of sealing.
Courtesy/By: Simren Mehra
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06 Apr 2018
