NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said it would constitute a committee to address issues hampering the implementation of the Chandni Chowk Redevelopment Project, observing that the matter involved the livelihood of small vendors and hawkers and therefore constituted a “human problem”.
Emphasising the sensitivity of the issue, the court cautioned the Delhi government that mishandling the project could irreversibly damage the historic area.
“If not handled with care, the entire area will get ruined, then you will regret. Every single resident of Delhi, and anyone with any association with Delhi, will regret,” the court said.
A Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia passed the order while hearing a petition filed by the Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal, which flagged multiple issues including inadequate infrastructure, excessive rickshaw movement and unauthorised hawking.
After hearing submissions, the Bench said the situation required day-to-day action, necessitating the formation of a committee, as constant monitoring by the court was not feasible.
“What we propose to do is to form a committee. All departments and corporations shall report to the committee. Everyday monitoring by court will not be possible,” the Chief Justice said. The court also stressed the need for a broader, coordinated plan involving stakeholders, noting enforcement alone would not resolve the problem.
“There are small vendors and hawkers. People’s livelihood is involved. Enforcing rules is very easy, but this is also a human problem,” the Bench observed. Counsel for the Vyapar Mandal told the court that while only 400 rickshaws were permitted in the area, around 2,000 were currently plying.
He also pointed to illegal loading and unloading, encroachment by homeless persons, unauthorised parking, violation of vehicular restrictions, non-functional traffic signals, sanitation issues, damage to heritage structures and poor infrastructure.
Despite Chandni Chowk being a no-vending and no-hawking zone, unauthorised hawking continued unabated, the counsel added. The Bench noted the submissions and reiterated that the issue required a sensitive approach.
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