Friday, April 21 2006 17:52 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: As the MCD action against illegal structures makes steady progress, Congress MPs from Delhi met party chief Sonia Gandhi with a plea to stop the demolition drive till the notification of New Masterplan for the capital.

"We demand immediate action in the form of a two line Bill in Parliament 'stop demolition till the notification of the new masterplan for the capital'," Congress MP from Sadar Jagdish Tytler told reporters here.

Besides Tytler, Congress MPs Kapil Sibal, Krishna Tirath and Sajjan Kumar met Gandhi as a part of their attempts to seek a solution to the situation arising out of the court orders to seal and demolish illegal structures in the capital.

"We believe that the extent of unauthorised construction in Delhi is the result of many years of neglect by the planning authorities and cannot be resolved overnight," Sibal said at a press conference.

Asserting that they were not in favour of unauthorised constructions, Sibal said the mess in the capital cannot be cleared overnight.

"We are for modern cities, but not at the cost of the lanes of Chandni Chowk and Paharganj, which have their own value," he said.

"At his rate, we will have to destroy 70 per cent of Delhi. Why demolish old Delhi to build a modern city," asked Tytler.

Sibal said he had also discussed the matter with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Minister for Urban Development S Jaipal Reddy and hoped for a solution soon.