The face of
Chandni
Chowk, home to Asia's largest wholesale market is all
set to change. According to a recent Delhi High Court order, the
chemical, paper and transport godowns are to be shifted out of the
Walled City in the next six months. Besides this, the other wholesale
businesses—dealing with hazardous and bulky goods—are
also expected to wind up, according to an action taken report submitted
in court. The non-hazardous wholesale traders, however, will only
have to shift their warehousing from the area.
The court has ordered sealing of shops in case owners do not comply.
The proposal is to send wholesale trade of bulk and hazardous goods
to integrated freight complexes (IFC) planned by DDA. In case of
wholesale goods like electronics and textiles etc, the warehousing
is proposed to be shifted to IFCs while the showrooms, retail outlets
and offices can continue to operate in the Walled City.
However, the chemical and paper wholesale traders claim that while
they are ready to shift out, the infrastructure development for
such a move has been dismal even as though the process was initiated
around six years ago. Meanwhile, some transport godowns have been
shifted to Sanjay Gandhi Nagar where plots were allotted to them.
The remaining godown owners are not too keen on shifting to IFCs.
Important issues with regard to plot size is also yet to be resolved
as far as the chemical traders are concerned. Said president of
chemical merchant association Sushil Goel: ‘‘We have
been functioning from Chandni Chowk since 1960. While draw of plots
for shifting us to Holambi Kalan took place in 2002, not all of
us were assigned plots. Moreover, there was also the issue of the
plot size being too small for our needs and the rate being charged
for each plot was also not satisfactory . No one has approached
us to resolve these pending issues. The development on the designated
site is also negligible.''
The traders in the paper industry also allege the same. Said president
of paper merchant association Rajinder Gupta: ‘‘While
some of us were given plots in 2002, many people were left out.
The development at the Ghazipur site in the last six years has not
even been 5%. With such a shoddy job being done as far as relocating
us is concerned, we are not too keen on shifting.''
As per the Master Plan 2021, the hazardous goods traders are to
be shifted out of the Walled City. The MCD is presently carrying
out a survey to ascertain the number of chemical, paper and transport
godown traders who need to be provided with plots and the size of
these plots to
Delhi
Development Authority (DDA). Said city zone deputy commissioner
Vijay Singh: ‘‘We are carrying out a verification as
many traders have complained that they had not been provided with
plots. This shall be completed by October 31 and the survey in respect
to the other wholesale traders shall be completed by December 31.
The list of eligible shops shall be forwarded to DDA for allotment
of alternative plots. The entire process shall be completed by end
of 2008.''
He added: ‘‘This kind of segregation of warehousing
from trading will benefit everyone. Not only will the godowns be
shifted out but the traffic congestion due to the goods vehicles
will also be done away with. Moreover, the traders will be shifted
to a more central location. Once the shifting is completed, we will
develop the area by promoting
tourism,
constructing
guesthouses, and generally
develop the area as a heritage zone.''
According to Suresh Bindal, general secretary mercantile association
of wholesale cloth market: ‘‘Shifting out is not an
issue but being provided with the required infrastructure by the
authorities concerned is what we are worried about. With the Metro
connectivity, trade in Chandni Chowk has improved tremendously and
it has emerged as an important retail market. For the wholesale
to be shifted, parking,
transport
facilities etc need to be provided but no concrete steps have
been made so far to assure us that our needs will be taken care
of.''
Udhav Sharda, secretary of Delhi electrical traders association
said; ‘‘Our business will be adversely affected if we
are asked to move out from here. The present infrastructure is so
poor, we have no hope of the government providing us with world
class infrastructure by setting up new commercial complexes.''
No DDA official was available for comment.
SMOOTH BUSINESS
Integrated freight complexes (IFCs) have been recommended for
the integration of goods movement by rail and road. These would
consist of wholesale market, warehousing, road for trucks and
rail transport terminus to curtail the movement of heavy vehicles.
The wholesale markets are proposed to be located or linked to
IFCs where the wholesale business can be operated more efficiently
and in a better environment. The DDA-planned IFCs are likely to
come up at the following places:
Holambi Kalan
For wholesale chemical traders Advantages: Located near NH-I
and railway line
Ghazipur
For wholesale paper traders Advantages: Located near NH-24 and
Anand Vihar integrated passenger terminal (all facilities related
to railways, passenger accommodation and transportation, goods
handling and passenger changeover facility)
Madanpur Khadar
Advantages: Located near NH-2, Tughlaqabad IPT & railway
line
Dwarka
Advantages: Located near Dwarka IPT and railway line
Tigri Kalan
Advantages: Located near NH-10 & railway line
Narela
Advantages: Located near NH-1 and railway line
While some transport godowns have been shifted to Sanjay Gandhi
Nagar, others will be shifted to one of the IFCs
Source: The Times Of India
