NEW DELHI: The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) removed signages at several shops and restaurants in Khan Market on Monday, terming them oversized and non-compliant under the Outdoor Advertisement Policy (OAP), 2017. The civic body also took down claddings and water motors installed near building boundaries, describing them as encroachments on public land.The drive was called off later in the day after traders said they had reached out to local elected representatives and senior NDMC officials to intervene.According to an NDMC official, the exercise was a joint effort by the enforcement, estate, architect and EBR departments, carried out in line with a decision taken at an earlier meeting with market stakeholders. The official maintained that notices had been issued regarding the signages beforehand.Traders disputed this, saying the drive came without warning and no prior notices were served. A trader said the association had extended full support for enforcing the policy, but the sudden arrival of staff and machinery across multiple departments was unwarranted. He suggested NDMC should have consulted shopkeepers before standardising signage sizes rather than acting unilaterally. Removal of water motors drew particular objection from traders, prompting them to resist the action until it was stopped following intervention from their local MP and the NDMC vice-chairman.Another shopkeeper pointed to a structural problem: since buildings in Khan Market aren’t uniformly aligned, signboards are often placed slightly forward for visibility. Traders also cited the original L&DO plot allocation terms, which reportedly permitted use of two feet of land in front and one foot at the back of each plot.NDMC officials said they were mindful of this arrangement and had not acted against signages extending up to two feet beyond shop boundaries. However, the official flagged that some establishments had gone up to four feet, with a few boards installed horizontally over roads — alongside similarly placed air-conditioning units — creating what the civic body called a safety hazard.NDMC denied carrying out any large-scale or targeted crackdown, saying the drive covered only 10-12 complexes in one row as a starting point, with the rest of the market advised to fall in line voluntarily. The traders’ association was also asked to help spread awareness. The water motors removed during the drive have since been returned, with NDMC noting that adequate water supply in the area meant individual installations were no longer necessary.
