Sealing drive to continue in capital: SC

Aug 24: Supreme Court is firm over the continuation of sealing drive as it rejected the plea of getting stay on demolition drive against illegal structures in 1500 unauthorised colonies filed by Union Urban Development Ministry and Municipal Corporation of Delhi to secure the fate of 40 lakhs people surviving to this sealing.

The apex court has warned MCD and Central to get ready to face the penalty if the sealing operation was discontinued. "Anything which is unauthorised shall be sealed otherwise you will face consequences," said firmly a Bench of Justices Arijit Pasayat and D K Jain to the centre.

The Supreme Court had appointed a Monitoring Committee on August 14 to overlook the sealing action of MCD and DDA on commercial units in unauthorised colonies. The sealing drive would be applicable to all unauthorised colonies built on government and private lands as well as those on non-notified areas.

This assertion has come in the hearing of a fresh application filed by the Additional Solicitor General Vikas Singh, Union Urban Development Ministry and MCD counsel Sanjiv Sen apex for seeking halt over sealing process conducted by MCD.

In their plea they had argued that as much as 40 lakhs people would be on the road if the sealing drive were not halted, but the court is firmed over this issue. Meanwhile the apex court has said it would examine the applications on Monday when the issue would come up for hearing. The court will here the petition on August 27.