Officers of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) said the proposed commercial complex will be a cluster of multi-storey blocks with heavy lifts, power back-up and a manicured patch. There will be 706 parking slots, much more than the standard requirement of 674 as detailed in the Masterplan for a public complex.

However, there was stiff resistance from traders when the DMRC first met them with the blueprint in August, 2005. It had become evident by then that the entire stretch on Panchkuian would have to be cleared for the Metro.

The traders moved court in 2006, angry that their shops should be stacked up in multi-storey buildings. However, senior counsel Arun Jaitley, representing DMRC, put forward an alternative proposal before the court on Monday. He said traders could move into ground floors only. At present, one block has been built, which can accommodate 49 shops on the ground floor.

Jaitley asked the Bench, led by Justice Mukul Mudgal, to direct NDMC and MCD to clear building plans for the other blocks in the next four weeks. Jaitley assured the judge that the DMRC would complete the construction within the “shortest possible time” — even pulling back the deadline by six months from the estimated two years. He said the upper floors will be leased out or auctioned as office space.

The DMRC has also made a concession on the lease period, stretching it to 30 years. The shopkeepers will have to pay Rs 9.5 lakh in advance for the land and construction.

The judge was impressed by the DMRC’s plan and urged shopkeepers to consider this “well-constructed amenity”. “Many of your customers often run away seeing the state of affairs at Panchkuian Market. Parking is a nightmare there,” Justice Mukul Mudgal told the traders. The matter will be heard again on September 15. But Chairman of the Panchkuian Road Furniture Market Association Vijay Vij did not sound too happy. “There is a petrol pump in front of the proposed complex. This might limit accessibility. Moreover, the shops are smaller than what we are used to,” Vij said.