Delhi govt could give relief on conversion charges & parking fee

NEW DELHI: Arvind Kejriwal led Government of Delhi is exploring the option to provide relief from conversion and parking charges imposed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). A statement in this regard was issued on Sunday, March 19.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal talked with around 500 shop owners whose shops were sealed at Local Shopping Centres (LSC) due to non-payment of conversion charges and parking fees. Conversion charges are to be paid by all property owners once the status of their property changes from residential to commercial.

During the meeting with the Chief Minister, traders raised their concerns about shops being sealed by the Delhi Urban Local Body (ULB), citing “illegal” conversion and parking charges. Kejriwal said a solution would be found about this and directed Saurabh Bhardwaj, Minister for Urban Development, Government of Delhi, and Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

MCD has served notices worth lakhs of rupees citing conversion and parking charges, ultimately leading to many of the shops getting sealed.

Vishal Ohri, General Secretary to the federation, highlighted that over 500 shops have been sealed in last five years, due to which traders suffered a loss of around ₹5,000 crore. After hearing the concern of the shop owners, Kejriwal assured them that a decision would be taken on the issue in the next few days and a solution would be found to make sure that the shops could obtain legal status by paying reasonable rates.