NEW DELHI: The Centre has lost almost Rs 2100 crore in taxes and incomes due to the sealing of several local shopping centres (LCS) in the national capital by the Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee, claimed the owners of these centres.
According to the Local Shopping Centre Federation of Delhi which represents over 100 market associations, these shops are now facing the threat of sealing by MCDs while some have already been sealed.
The federation’s president Rajesh Goyal accused the South Municipal Corporation of Delhi (SDMC) of harassing the traders in the name of conversion charges. “The SDMC is sending notices to commercial markets.
These markets are commercial since inception. So asking for such charges is plain harassment. Because of the greed of the MCDs, they have not regularised many buildings. DDA has already passed a notification in 2018 against the civic bodies asking for conversion charges in such markets. Due to the sealing of shops, the central government has lost around Rs 2100 of revenue through taxes,” he said.
Shops, running in residential buildings in Delhi, were ordered to pay conversion charges in 2001 to be converted into fully commercial buildings.
However, in old markets like GK 2 and Defence Colony, there is no such provision of conversion charges as per the amendment by DDA in 2018.
The DDA has said that in Commercial Markets, even if the sanctioned plan states the upper floors as a residence and the user/owners put the upper floors for commercial use then it will not be treated as misuse.
No misuse/conversion charge will be applicable. According to traders, demands of the SDMC and other agencies are unjustified.
“Asking for misuse/ conversion charges under provisions of Mixed Land Regulation by MCD is a mistake. When DDA has clearly stated that Mix Land Regulation or Residential norms cannot be applied on an LSC, then how is MCD asking for commercial charges from traders.
"We are already facing financial crunch due to months of lockdown,” said Vishal Ohri, a member of the federation. The disgruntled traders have demanded the intervention of Union Urban Development Minister Hardeep Puri and Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal and direct the MCDs to stop issuing notices to traders of Delhi.