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Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Monday that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) had submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court relating to amendments made in the Master Plan Delhi (MPD) 2021 to address issues of the sealing drive in the national capital.
Rejecting the demand for bringing in an ordinance to stop the sealing drive, Puri asked how an ordinance could be brought about while the Parliament was in session.
He said the Master Plan was a legal document which provided an opportunity and possibility for amendment, and DDA had the right to carry out its statutory function and amend the Master Plan.
“The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) proposed modification in the Master Plan was an exercise of its statutory duty and it was following the prescribed procedure of law,” he told reporters.
As part of the affidavit, he said the DDA has prepared its response to nine issues raised by the amicus curiae that included those related to environment, congestion, traffic, safety measures, civic amenities and parking.
He said the DDA has submitted that the modification to the Master Plan will have only minimal effect over the environment and other existing facilities.
LG Anil Baijal, who was also present at the press conference, told reporters that the sealing drive was being conducted only in the case of commercial establishments that have come up in the stilt area mandatorily required for parking spaces, areas where unauthorise construction was taking place, areas where encroachment had taken place on government and reserved forest land.
Puri also criticised the incidents of violence taking place in the backdrop of sealing drive and said the amendments in Master Plan have been proposed in favour of traders.
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