New Delhi: AAP councillors raised the issue of sub-leasing of shops at Omaxe Mall in Chandni Chowk without MCD’s proper approvals during a standing committee meeting Thursday, stating that the civic body may lose its land forever if timely action is not taken.Councillors said the plot was given to a concessionaire on a 99-year lease. AAP councillor and standing committee member Praveen Kumar alleged that the executive wing of Municipal Corporation of Delhi allowed the concessionaire to sub-lease shops without following the mandated approval process under Delhi Municipal Corporation Act and 10 out of 850 shops had already been sub-leased. Even if the agreement allows sub-leasing, the approval is mandatory, he claimed.Civic officials said the lease deed allowed the concessionaire to sub-lease the shops. “The sub-leasing of shops and issuing licences will generate a revenue of Rs 30 crore for MCD,” said an official.Standing committee chairperson Satya Sharma, however, sought clarity on the matter, especially since no committee was in place in 2023. Councillors demanded that the sub-leasing process be stopped till then.The Omaxe media team said later that the provision for lease and sub-lease of shops was included in the request for proposal and bid documents governing the PPP project, and the concessionaire had acted accordingly.During the meeting, a proposal to delink the 90% house tax realisation target from the zero-waste colony objective was approved.
