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Illegal mini-malls demolished in New Delhi crackdown

The mini-mall, with its spot-lit, air-conditioned interior filled with fashion boutiques was a gleaming example of the new India -- an emerging economic powerhouse in tune with other cultures.

Now it lies in ruins. All that remains of the mall's gray and white marble facade is a heap of twisted metal, smashed stones and shattered mirrors.

This symbol of India's progress fell victim to another: a city government, with a strong push from the courts, now trying to uphold the rule of law and clamp down on illegal constructions rampant across the city.

The combination of its 14 million inhabitants, endemic corruption and lax law enforcement has led to construction chaos in New Delhi. Thousands of buildings have sprung up across the city, often built with little regard for safety, aesthetics or zoning laws.

Following a public petition last year, the courts ordered the New Delhi municipality to begin demolishing buildings erected without permits or that violated zoning laws.

Public protests

The demolitions quickly drew public protests, with demonstrators accusing city hall of only targeting violations in poorer neighborhoods. The court again stepped in, giving the city a deadline to go after VIP culprits, too, by the end of last month.

That's when the city bulldozers turned their attention to two malls, known as MG1 and MG2, sitting side-by-side on the southern outskirts of the city.

The malls, each housing some 60 designer boutiques, had become New Delhi's fashion hub. However, they were illegally built on land zoned for the use of villagers on the outskirts of the city, the municipality said, and they had to go.

Soft targets

The resident fashion designers charged city officials were hitting the country's nouveau riche to win the support of the masses and placate the courts, while avoiding conflict with the truly powerful names on the illegal construction list, including New Delhi's chief minister and four ministers in the state government.

"They are tackling us because we are soft targets who are in the limelight," said designer Mandira Wirk, 30, who had boutiques in each of the doomed malls.

"There are dozens of buildings in this area. Why are they only targeting us?" said B.S. Rawat, the manager of MG1, which was destroyed on Wednesday.

The Supreme Court heard a last-minute petition to stay the demolition on Friday, but again ruled against the malls, ordering the demolition to go ahead. By Friday afternoon, orange city bulldozers were tearing them down.
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