SC posts, for July 11, plea on civic body's non-cooperation in sealing drive
New Delhi, June 14: The Supreme Court on Thursday posted for July 11 a plea by a monitoring committee - mandated to identify and seal unauthorised structures in the national capital - which said the South Delhi Municipal Corporation was not cooperating.
A vacation bench of Justice U.U. Lalit and Justice Deepak Gupta said the plea should be considered by the regular bench which has been hearing the matter.
"We are sitting in a vacation court. We have not dealt with the matter. Another bench (headed by Justice Madan B. Lokur) is dealing with it. Let this matter be listed before the regular bench on July 11," said the bench.
"We deem it appropriate that report numbers 120 and 121 (filed by the monitoring committee) be listed before the bench taking up these matters on July 11. We give liberty to the amicus curiae to mention the matter before the court immediately after re-opening of court in case of any urgency," it added.
Senior counsel Ranjit Kumar, who is amicus curiae in the sealing matter, told the bench that the municipal body was refusing to carry out the directions of the committee on the grounds that the amendments to the Master Plan-2021 were yet to be finalised.
The committee, in its two reports, has claimed that municipal bodies, including the SDMC, have refused to carry out the sealing drive saying the amendments in the Master Plan-2021 were not finalised yet and the issue of notifying mixed-land use along 351 roads was pending in the top court.
The top court-appointed monitoring committee's report is of June 11.
During the hearing, the amicus curiae referred to the May 15 order passed by the court which had said that the committee would continue with its duties and responsibilities.
He said that after the May 15 order, the committee asked the officials concerned to carry out sealing in their respective areas, but the officials refused to do so, saying the government has instructed them not to proceed till finalisation of amendments in Master Plan-2021.
On May 15, the Supreme Court gave 15 days to the Central government for inviting objections to the proposed amendments in the Master Plan-2021, and had asked it to finalise it after considering all the aspects.
The Master Plan-2021 is a blueprint for urban planning and expansion in the metropolis to ensure overall development and the proposed amendments are aimed at bringing a uniform FAR, the ratio of a building's total floor area (gross floor area) to the size of the piece of land on which it is built, for shop-cum-residential plots and complexes on par with residential plots.
An STF was also formed by the Central government to monitor issues relating to unauthorised constructions in Delhi and take steps to demolish them.
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Centre spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print media ads for RSS centenary, reveals RTI
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Culture allegedly spent Rs 76.13 lakh on print advertisements marking the 100-year celebrations of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), according to a Right to Information (RTI) reply.
The information was sought by RTI activist Ajay Basudev Bose, who filed an application seeking details on expenditure incurred by the ministry for advertisements commemorating the RSS centenary.
Bose shared a picture of the reply from the ministry on his official ‘X’ handle.
“It is informed that an amount of Rs 76,13,129 has been spent on advertisement given in various print media by the Ministry of Culture on the occasion of the completion of 100 years of RSS,” the government’s reply stated.
RTI reply shows Min of Culture Govt of India spent a Whopping Rs 76L,13K,129 on Advertisement in Print Media on occasion of 100 yrs of #RSS
— AJAY Basudev Bose (@AjayBos93388306) April 16, 2026
When Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??@RSSorg… pic.twitter.com/dW4IUtdNCg
Bose questioned the expenditure in the post X, “when Everyone knows RSS is Not Registered & Does not Pay any Tax is it justified to spend Tax Payers Money on such Private event??”
Reacting to the development, Karnataka’s IT-BT and Panchayat Raj Minister Priyank Kharge also criticised the spending.
In a post on X, he asked why public money was being used for what he described as a “private ideological project.”
"Modi Sarkar spent Rs 76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS. Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to celebrate their centenary?," he added.
Why is public money being used to serve a private ideological project?
— Priyank Kharge / ಪ್ರಿಯಾಂಕ್ ಖರ್ಗೆ (@PriyankKharge) April 16, 2026
Modi Sarkar spent ₹76,13,129 of public money on newspaper advertisements to celebrate 100 years of the RSS.
Why is Government spending taxpayers money on an unregistered, non-tax-paying organisation to… pic.twitter.com/EoZ6Pim3IM
According to reports, the RSS describes itself as a volunteer-based organisation and has stated that it functions as a body of individuals rather than a registered entity.
Founded by Keshav Baliram Hedgewar in 1925, the organisation is marking its centenary year beginning from Vijaydashami in 2025, with the milestone observed on October 2.
