| ah ha! so that is why all the anti-Plan shrillness!
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Kalyani Menon-Sen
> To: Hazards Centre ; D. Leena ; insafdelhi@xxxxxxxxx
> ; womenunltd@xxxxxxxx ; wri@xxxxxxxx ; HRLN ; Renu
> Anuj ; Sadre Alam ; anil chaudhary ; Shivani
> Chaudhry ; smitu kothari ; saheli women ;
> jimmy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ; VANI
> Cc: Kalpana ; abha bhaiya ; Kamla Bhasin ; manjari ;
> Manjima Bhattacharjya ; Jayawati Shrivastava ;
> NANDITA GANDHI
> Sent: Monday, September 04, 2006 4:14 PM
> Subject: Re: MCD sealing drive
>
>
> Dear All,
>
> Please find attached the final letter to Jaipal
> Reddy, with the signatures of those who attended the
> meeting and some others who could not attend but
> endorsed the letter over phone or e-mail. This
> letter is being faxed to Jaipal Reddy (MoUD) and
> Ajay Maken (MoS) right away.
>
> Please circulate this letter to your networks and
> ask those who wish to join this petition to please
> just add their names to the list and fax it to Mr
> Reddy (011-23062089) and copy it to Ajay Maken
> (011-23321114). Please try and do this latest by
> tomorrow morning.
>
> Jaipal Reddy has been contacted for an appointment,
> which will be confirmed in a couple of hours. Ritu
> Menon and Angana Parekh are coordinating this -
> those who can join the delegation should contact
> them (e-mails given above).
>
> KALYANI
>
>
>
> On 03/09/06, Kalyani Menon-Sen <kalyani@xxxxxxxxxx>
> wrote:
> Please find attached the drafts of two letters
> that we can discuss and finalise at the meeting -
> the first is a request for inclusion of NGOs in nthe
> exempted category while the second is on the larger
> issues raised by the actions of the SC and the MCD.
>
> Please confirm your attendance at the meeting
> with a line to me.
>
>
> KALYANI
>
>
>
> On 01/09/06, Kalyani Menon-Sen <
> kalyani@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Dear Friends,
>
> As you are all aware, the MCD (egged on by the
> Supreme Court) has once again launched its drive to
> seal all premises in residential areas where
> commercial activities are being carried out. Some
> professions and activities (lawyers, doctors,
> chartered accountants, architects) have been
> exempted from this action. Owner-occupied
> residential premises where 50 per cent of the space
> is used as an office are also exempted.
>
> Non-profit organisations, Registered Societies
> and Trusts are not included in the list of exempted
> categories. Almost all of us (barring the lucky few
> who have offices in institutional areas) operate
> from premises in residential areas. We are all
> therefore at risk of having our premises sealed and
> activities disrupted.
>
> The situation is serious - immediate collective
> action is called for to protest this move and to get
> NGOs and non-profit social organisations included in
> the list of exempted categories.
>
> Some of us (including Ritu Menon of Women
> Unlimited, Dunu Roy of Hazard Centre and Anil
> Chaudhary of PEACE) have been in touch and are
> suggesting an emergency meeting to discuss options
> and strategies at 1130 hrs on 4 September in ISI. A
> draft of a possible petition will be circulated
> before the meeting.
>
> Please make sure to attend. Please also
> circulate this letter to your own Delhi mailing
> list.
>
> --
> KALYANI MENON-SEN
> JAGORI
> B-114 Shivalik, Malviya Nagar
> New Delhi 110017 INDIA.
>
> email: jagori@xxxxxxxxxx
> Phones +91 11 2669 1219, 2669 1220
> Fax: +91 11 2669 1221
> Helpline +91 11 2669 2700
>
>
>
> --
> KALYANI MENON-SEN
> JAGORI
> B-114 Shivalik, Malviya Nagar
> New Delhi 110017 INDIA.
>
> email: jagori@xxxxxxxxxx
> Phones +91 11 2669 1219, 2669 1220
> Fax: +91 11 2669 1221
> Helpline +91 11 2669 2700
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> KALYANI MENON-SEN
> JAGORI
> B-114 Shivalik, Malviya Nagar
> New Delhi 110017 INDIA.
>
> email: jagori@xxxxxxxxxx
> Phones +91 11 2669 1219, 2669 1220
> Fax: +91 11 2669 1221
> Helpline +91 11 2669 2700
>
=======attachment text====
September 4, 2006
To,
Shri S Jaipal Reddy
Minister of Urban Development
Nirman Bhavan
New Delhi 110001
Dear Shri Reddy,
We the undersigned, representatives of Delhi-based
civil society groups and non-profit organisations
engaged in social services, seek your intervention in
clarifying our status vis-a-vis the sealing drive
presently being carried out by the Municipal
Corporation of Delhi in fulfillment of the orders of
the Supreme Court.
As you are aware, non-profit charitable societies and
trusts are not specifically mentioned in the list of
those for whom it is permissible to carry out
professional activities in residential areas. The
large majority of non-profit organisations in Delhi,
as in other cities, do in fact operate out of premises
in residential areas, primarily because office space
in institutional areas is not available to us. Despite
the issue being raised by many of us, the revised
Delhi Master Plan has not earmarked sufficient
institutional areas where non-profit organisations
operating with slender budgets can afford to purchase
land or construct offices.
The shortage of institutional space in the city is
paralleled by the shortfalls in the
services-education, health, social welfare, crisis
support, emergency relief-available to poor and
marginalized citizens of Delhi who are forced by the
lack of affordable housing to fend for themselves in
"illegal" settlements. Non-profit and civil society
organizations are increasingly being called upon to
plug these gaps-in fact, flagship interventions such
as the UNDP-supported urban development and poverty
alleviation programme for resettlement colonies, is
being implemented exclusively through non-profit
organisations.
Given that the services provided by the non-profit
organisations sector meet needs that are presently
unmet by the government machinery and are accessed by
a large number of the general public, sealing of our
offices even for a short period will result in
depriving already marginalized communities of
desperately needed services.
We therefore request your urgent and immediate
intervention to include charitable trusts and
societies and other non-profit civil society
organisations in the list of those permitted to carry
out professional activities in residential areas.
(Signed)
· Ankur
· Zubaan
· Insaaf
· Sangat
· Centre for Education and Communication
· Joint Women's Programme
· Action India
· Peace
· Pratham
· Society for Applied Studies
· Raasta
· Amba Foundation
· Hazards Centre
· Navadanya
· Viveka Foundation
· North-East Network
· TARSHI
· Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action
· Centre for Advocacy and Research
· VANI
· Kali for Women
· Women Unlimited
· Nirantar
· Jagori
· Women's Feature Service
· Institute of Social Studies Trust
· Institute for Social Democracy
· RAHI Foundation
· Swasthya
· Shakti Shalini
· Delhi Forum
· National Alliance of Women's Organisations (NAWO)
· Haq- Centre for Child Rights
· Lok Raj Sangathan
__________________________________________________
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