One of the kiosks set up along the road tried to cover
its illegality by painting a sign that it was approved by MCD. However,
this is what gave it away. Arun Banerjee, a local resident who filed an
RTI on the issue, came to know that as the area was under DDA’s
jurisdiction, it was not possible for the South Delhi Municipal
Corporation (SDMC) to allot a kiosk. “Several hawkers have been trying
to make their temporary kiosks permanent by making brick structures. In
this case, the owner was trying to pass off the illegal kiosk as genuine
allotment by painting MCD on it,” Banerjee said.

Armed with an
RTI reply from DDA that SDMC could not allot a kiosk in its area,
Banerjee approached the corporation. He got the reply that while no
fresh allotments had been made in the area in the past five years, a
shop was merely ‘shifted’ there.

A letter accessed through an
RTI states that SDMC’s administrative officer allotted space in Nasirpur
Sector 1 to the kiosk applicant in July without the municipality having
any authority or jurisdiction in the area.

DDA has written to
SDMC to explain the allotment, threatening to remove the kiosk if they
don’t hear from the municipality. “Why hasn’t DDA acted now that SDMC
hasn’t responded to its official communication? It shows a lack of
intent by DDA,” Banerjee said.

The busy Nasirpur road carries a
bulk of Dwarka’s traffic. With Delhi Metro having started construction
of Dashrathpuri station the road has narrowed further. “Residents have
complained to various authorities, including DDA, to remove the tempos
that park there illegally, converting portions of sidewalk into a stand
and clogging the road. But authorities brush our concerns aside saying
that such matters are referred to police which carries out drives once
in a while,” Banerjee added.