The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) did not get any proposal from the Delhi government to provide land for relocation of Mayapuri scrap dealers, a senior DDA official has said, amid suggestions from Aam Aadmi Party leaders that they had made efforts to help traders in the area. Advertising The DDA official said that in the aftermath of the violence, which broke out during a sealing drive last week, he got records and minutes of meetings checked, but could not find anything to substantiate AAP’s claims. AAP has maintained that the violence was due to central agencies not allocating alternate land to relocate Mayapuri traders, with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia saying that if the DDA was brought under the purview of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, they would “get the land allocated to these traders in two days”. The violence between traders and security forces on April 13 had left at least 14 people injured. Advertising Mayapuri is a hub of scrap dealers, especially those dealing with vehicles. Ever since the court ruling that banned petrol vehicles older than 15 years and diesel vehicles older than 10 years, the automobiles are usually sold for scrap at this market. Before they relocated to Mayapuri, the traders were operating in areas such as Motia Khan, Paharganj, Turkman Gate, Anand Parbat and Shahdara. According to the DDA official, most traders occupy more space than they are allotted, leading to traffic snarls. He also claimed that cutting of automobiles is done in the open and generates pollutants. “As a permanent solution, we need to bring some modern scientific method for cutting vehicles and get traders to abide by pollution norms. Otherwise, even if we relocate them, it’ll lead to the same problem,” the official said.

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