Khan Market traders object to NDMC's 'misguided' encroachment drive

The Khan Market Traders Association objected to an NDMC anti-encroachment drive, with president Sanjeev Mehra calling the civic body "misguided" about "massive encroachment" and terming the sudden action "very sad."

After the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) launched an anti-encroachment drive at Delhi's Khan Market, the action drew objections from the Khan Market Traders Association, with its president Sanjeev Mehra questioning the civic body's assessment of encroachment in the market.

Traders Question NDMC's Assessment

Mehra said NDMC on Monday was "a little misguided" in believing that there was massive encroachment in Khan Market. He said the objections were limited to "small projections" that protruded, adding that traders had repeatedly asked senior NDMC officials to examine the documents provided to them at the time of allotment. Speaking to ANI, Sanjeev Mehra said, "NDMC is a little misguided that there is massive encroachment in Khan Market. But there is nothing like that. Small projections are protruding, which they had a little objection to. We had been telling NDMC again and again that their senior officers should come and see our papers, which were given to us at the time of allotment. Based on that, they should decide whether there is an encroachment and how much it is. We had been waiting for them to come, but before they could, they suddenly initiated action (on Monday). They came here with a JCB."

BJP MP Unaware of Action, Traders Seek Clarity

Mehra further said that Khan Market had not had any visible encroachment for the past 76 years and termed the action taken by NDMC as "very sad". He said the traders had also raised the matter with BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj, who, according to him, had no knowledge of the action. "For the past 76 years, Khan Market has been a place where one would not find any visible encroachment. What happened yesterday was very sad, and we also objected to it. We told Bansuri Swaraj about it. She had no knowledge of it. Who ordered it? NDMC has not given us any clarity. We have sent another letter to Bansuri Swaraj, asking her to visit here with officials. I think she will visit after the Parliament session and make a decision. We do not want to oppose the government's progressive moves, but there should be uniformity. The notice they had sent us was very vague," Mehra added. (ANI)

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