SC posts, for July 11, plea on civic body's non-cooperation in sealing drive

New Delhi, June 14 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Thursday posted for July 11 a plea by a monitoring committee - mandated to identify and seal unauthorised structures in the national capital - which said the South Delhi Municipal Corporation was not cooperating.

A vacation bench of Justice U.U. Lalit and Justice Deepak Gupta said the plea should be considered by the regular bench which has been hearing the matter.

"We are sitting in a vacation court. We have not dealt with the matter. Another bench (headed by Justice Madan B. Lokur) is dealing with it. Let this matter be listed before the regular bench on July 11," said the bench.

"We deem it appropriate that report numbers 120 and 121 (filed by the monitoring committee) be listed before the bench taking up these matters on July 11. We give liberty to the amicus curiae to mention the matter before the court immediately after re-opening of court in case of any urgency," it added.

Senior counsel Ranjit Kumar, who is amicus curiae in the sealing matter, told the bench that the municipal body was refusing to carry out the directions of the committee on the grounds that the amendments to the Master Plan-2021 were yet to be finalised.

The committee, in its two reports, has claimed that municipal bodies, including the SDMC, have refused to carry out the sealing drive saying the amendments in the Master Plan-2021 were not finalised yet and the issue of notifying mixed-land use along 351 roads was pending in the top court.

The top court-appointed monitoring committee's report is of June 11.

During the hearing, the amicus curiae referred to the May 15 order passed by the court which had said that the committee would continue with its duties and responsibilities.

He said that after the May 15 order, the committee asked the officials concerned to carry out sealing in their respective areas, but the officials refused to do so, saying the government has instructed them not to proceed till finalisation of amendments in Master Plan-2021.

On May 15, the Supreme Court gave 15 days to the Central government for inviting objections to the proposed amendments in the Master Plan-2021, and had asked it to finalise it after considering all the aspects.

The Master Plan-2021 is a blueprint for urban planning and expansion in the metropolis to ensure overall development and the proposed amendments are aimed at bringing a uniform FAR, the ratio of a building's total floor area (gross floor area) to the size of the piece of land on which it is built, for shop-cum-residential plots and complexes on par with residential plots.

An STF was also formed by the Central government to monitor issues relating to unauthorised constructions in Delhi and take steps to demolish them.