Shared guilt

Sir — The municipal corporation of Delhi is responsible for the chaos over the sealing drive in the capital (“Capital of chaos at mob mercy”, Sep 21). The house-owners who had allowed shops to come up on their premises or sold a portion to traders with the approval of the corporation are equally guilty. The harassed traders do have a legitimate grievance. The government should realize that it exists in order to work for the masses, not to destroy their source of income. Instead of trying to uphold the orders of the apex, the government should try and eliminate corruption in its ranks. For every illegal construction that had to be sealed, the Delhi government should find the culprits who allowed them in the first place. The guilty corporation officials should be punished and the same treatment should be meted out to the builder and the owner of each illegal structure.

Yours faithfully,
Sukanta Das, Calcutta

Sir — How can Delhiites protest so violently when the apex court has issued a verdict to rid the city of illegal commercial establishments? The chief minister of Delhi needs to be congratulated for handling the case with an iron hand. No government should allow an illegal structure to stand, and, perhaps, those in power in West Bengal and Bihar can learn a lesson or two from the Delhi administration.

Yours faithfully,
T.R. Anand, Calcutta

Sir — Sniffing for an opportunity to checkmate a political rival appears to have overtaken the concern for the loss of lives and civic disorder. What is even more appalling in this case is the propensity to exploit a parliamentary process to circumvent a judicial ruling. It is not that the Delhi Master Plan 2021 has emerged out of nothing, and without notice. What amazes a commoner is that one political formation prefers a knee-jerk reaction while another allows things to drift even as endemic corruption and lax law enforcement destroy the credibility of various institutions. The Delhi chaos asks one frank question of India’s boomtowns — what is the price of such master plans? Bullets and lives?

Yours faithfully,
Surajit Das, Calcutta

Sir — The responsibility for the sealing drive turning ugly rests wholly with the traders and their supporters. Unfortunately, neither the business community nor the government understands that a law that nullifies a Supreme Court ruling cannot be beneficial to the public in the long run. Therefore, those unable to run their businesses according to the law of the land must leave and set up shop elsewhere. After all, nobody is forcing them to live and work in Delhi. The majority of Delhiites do not support the traders’ cause since the latter are harassing residents, damaging property and forcing people to close their business. Besides, there was no need to take recourse to violence as a means of protest. The Delhi police cannot be faulted for firing since they had been compelled by the protesters to resort to such an action.

Yours faithfully,
Mahesh Kumar, New Delhi

Sir — Traders in Delhi have been shuttling between the government and the courts for long. If a similar problem could be solved in Maharashtra, what prevents a solution to the crisis in Delhi? No matter who has the last word — the traders or the court — it should be ensured that a small number of traders is affected adversely by the sealing drive.

Yours faithfully,
Shiv Shanker Almal, Calcutta

Sir — It is not fair to punish only one party when both — Delhi traders and the government — are at fault. If the traders were wrong to construct shops and malls without legal permission, the administration is lying when it claims that it knew nothing of such illegal constructions. It will not be easy for the traders to accept the court order. Nevertheless, the Master Plan for Delhi should not be compromised since such a step would jeopardize similar plans for other cities in the country. Instead, the government should go about setting up commercial districts that can attract customers from all over the city. Meanwhile, further clashes between the police and protesters should be avoided since such turbulence makes it difficult for the government to persuade people to make long-term compromises.

Yours faithfully,
Shaurya Ratna, Ranchi

Sir — A sealing drive such as the one in Delhi is unlikely to work in Calcutta. Here, customers conspire with the authorities to legalize hawkers for their own convenience and any intervention by the police is likely to trigger violence and political manoeuvrings. Hawkers enjoy the blessings of trade unions and party dons and the police can also be bought with bribes. For the ordinary Calcuttan, there does not seem to be any relief on the horizon, given the civic collapse and the existing law and order problems in the city.

Yours faithfully,
C.R. Bhattacharjee, Calcutta