The Delhi Government has been asked by traders to give clarity on their proposal for revamping five iconic markets and holding shopping festivals to increase employment.
The traders said that nothing has happened on the ground despite the proposals being mentioned in the last budget and dates for the shopping festival being fixed in January. Delhi Government officials, however, said they will work closely with MCD to implement the plan.
The five markets to be revamped were Kamla Nagar, Khari Baoli, Lajpat Nagar, Sarojini Nagar and Kirti Nagar.
Also Read: Traders still waiting a year after plans for Rs. 100 crore revamp of Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar market
“Last year, Delhi Government allocated Rs 100 crore for redeveloping the markets and the scheme was advertised a lot. But till date, not even a single market has seen any improvement. In the current budget, there is no mention of the status of the plan. Our market was established in 1950 and the services are still in the same condition,” said Nitin Gupta, president, Kamla Nagar Market Association.
He also added that there was an urgent need for parking management and CCTV cameras for the market.
Officials from Delhi Tourism and other departments had paid visits after Delhi Government’s announcement, said Sarojini Nagar Mini Market president Ashok Randhawa.
“We even had a meeting on the project but the results are not visible. NDMC claimed it had already prepared a redevelopment plan for the market and the government was taking credit for its work. We had expected the project to begin before the G20 events in March and offered to extend all possible help, but except Delhi Police, which installed CCTV cameras on our request, no other agency did anything,” said Randhawa.
Except for an initial interaction with the Delhi Government, there has been no communication on the plan, revealed Ashwani Marwah, general secretary, Lajpat Nagar Markets’ Traders Association. According to Chamber of Trade and Industry chairman Brijesh Goyal, work is in progress and projects will be taken up one by one.
Delhi finance minister Kailash Gahlot acknowledged that the projects had no yet taken off and said, “We announced the redevelopment of five iconic markets, Gandhi Nagar garments hub, shopping festivals, food truck policy and others last year. They require close coordination with MCD for their rollout.”
With AAP’s mayor in the House after the win in the civic polls, Gahlot said he hoped Delhi Government would have better coordination with MCD now. “We will take up all the projects again in the new financial year,” he added.
