Basement located 50 shops in south Delhi's posh Defence Colony marketplace will be sealed by the area's civic administration today on wrongly use of the property, officials said.

The sealing action was carried out by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) on the instruction of a Supreme Court-appointed monitoring committee.Basement units were sealed in 50 shops at the Defence Colony market for wrongly use of the property, a superior SDMC official said.

The Building Department of the Central Zone of the civic body sealed the basements despite minor resistance from traders.Incidentally, the members of the committee earlier in the day met to decide on the future course of action in connection with the sealing drive.

Sources said a top official of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), representatives of the Defence Colony Market Association were present at the meeting.The first sealing drive was undertaken on December 22, 2017, in this market only, when over 50 commercialized units in the upscale market were sealed for "not depositing" conversion charges as per provisions in the city's Master Plan 2021.

Subsequently, besides the South Delhi Municipal Corporation(SDMC), the north Delhi corporation and the New Delhi Municipal Council, have also sealed several properties in areas coming under their jurisdiction.(NT)