DMRC mall-ed

MCD's sealing drive expected at other Metro malls too

Sometimes action take a legal course, and at times, illegal.u00a0 The Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Tuesday sealed the Parsvanath mall at Inderlok Metro station, claiming it to be illegal, but Delhi Metro Rail Corporation stated that the construction of mall was part of a project cleared by the Centre.


Dead end: The entry and exit points to the station allegedly got
clogged, as the sealing squad, police personnel and commuters had
converged at a single point. pic/ mid day

Chaos and confusion not only kept the Metro commuters on toes, but also left the authorities in tizzy on Tuesday morning. If this wasn't enough, soon a number of shopping malls and housing projects constructed across the city by DMRC, are expected to face similar action by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

"DMRC got prime property at throwaway prices and is making money by leasing it out, indulging in heavy commercial development at its stations and is violating local civic body norms. We will take action," said a top MCD official, wishing anonymity.

On the other hand, DMRC claims that Delhi Metro is mandated to do this under the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Act and various sanctions granted by Union Urban Development Ministry to make the project viable.
The Delhi Metro Shopping Mall was being run by Parsvanath Developers at Inderlok Metro station and was sent a notice around a month ago. Following the notice Delhi Metro had also sought Delhi Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta's intervention. However, MCD went ahead with the sealing action.

While some of the portion is still under construction, the already built portion has two big restaurantsu00a0-- McDonalds and Comesum food junctions. The big bazaar multi-storey multiplex, a Raymonds factory outlet and an ATM of Punjab National Bank are also operating under the mall. Apart from these, the mall is also a facilitation center for the DOEACC society, which imparts computer training to students. All these commercial places have been active since the construction of the mall in 2004.

Apart from this mall, MCD and Delhi Metro for years have been fighting over various issues, including property tax, advertisement tax and building byelaws. Approximately, the land is around 75 acres which is worth Rs 1,000 crore. While some of them are shopping complexes, there are some housing projects built by Delhi Metro to make the project viable. MCD is asking the Delhi Metro to pay around Rs 500 crore of property tax bills while Delhi Metro thinks otherwise.

u00a0"To make the project sustainable, we are doing property development at various places under sanctions granted by central government," said, RM Raina, Adviser Property Development, DMRC.