Only 10 Of 8,084 Notified Establishments Sealed As Bhopal Municipal Corporation Awaits Supreme Court Hearing

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Supreme Court is likely to hear the matter concerning commercial establishments operating in residential areas today (Tuesday), with the case listed for 2 pm. The hearing scheduled for Sep 15 was deferred as the judge was on leave.

The hearing assumes significance as the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) has taken action against only a fraction of the establishments served notices following the court's Aug 5 directives.

The BMC had identified around 62,500 commercial establishments, but notices were issued to only 8,084 - around 13% of the total.

Of these, action was taken against around 190 establishments through 'panchnamas', including 10 establishments that were officially sealed.

This means action was recorded against around 2.3% of the establishments that received notices, while official sealing accounted for only around 0.12% of the notified establishments.

The BMC conducted the drive for around three days before halting it following protests by traders. Residents have since raised questions over the lack of follow-up verification and enforcement.

Over 42 days, no further progress in notice process

The Supreme Court's written order was uploaded on Aug 10, following the Aug 5 hearing. The BMC therefore had more than 42 days to proceed against the remaining 7,894 establishments that had received notices.

However, the BMC's action did not progress beyond the initial drive, and no fresh verification was carried out to establish whether establishments that had been closed had actually remained shut.

According to residents, several establishments that were closed during the drive subsequently reopened. They have questioned whether the BMC's action amounted to effective compliance with the Supreme Court's directions.

Residents submit objections through amicus

Petitioners and residents Vivek Tripathi and Purnandu Shukla said they had submitted documents detailing what they described as irregularities in the BMC's action through the court-appointed amicus curiae, Ajit Kumar Sinha.

Tripathi alleged that the civic body's action was largely limited to paperwork and that several establishments, including those that had been sealed, reopened after the drive was halted.

Officialspeak

BMC deputy commissioner Bhuvan Gupta said the corporation had already submitted its action-taken report (ATR) to the Supreme Court and had completed preparations for the hearing.

He said the civic body would present its replies and compliance details before the court as directed.