MCD seals 56 jewellery shops in Chandni Chowk with 'gold and silver worth crores locked inside'

At least 56 jewellery and bullion shops in Chandni Chowk’s Kucha Mahajani were sealed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Thursday as part of its intensified crackdown on illegal and dangerous buildings across the Capital, with traders claiming that gold and silver jewellery worth crores of rupees remained locked inside the premises.

The sealing operation was carried out around 11.30 am, according to Yogesh Singhal, president of the All India Bullion and Jewellers Association. Traders alleged that MCD and police personnel arrived in the area, pasted notices on shops located in several buildings and proceeded with the sealing action at the same time, leaving shopkeepers with little opportunity to remove their merchandise.

Traders allege notices backdated

The association questioned the manner in which the exercise was conducted and alleged that notices pasted on the premises carried earlier dates. One notice shared by traders was dated May 12, 2026, and concerned alleged misuse of a basement for commercial activity.

According to the notice, the occupant had been directed to stop misuse of the basement and bring the premises within the use permitted under Master Plan-2021 within 48 hours, failing which sealing action could follow. Traders, however, claimed they had not received the notices earlier and became aware of the action only when officials arrived on Thursday.

The association said large quantities of valuable jewellery and bullion had consequently been left inside the sealed establishments. It also questioned whether the enforcement campaign following the Satya Niketan building collapse would result only in action against traders or whether accountability would extend to government departments and officials responsible for allowing violations to continue.

There was no immediate response from the MCD to the traders’ allegations regarding the notices or the valuables remaining inside the sealed premises.

Crackdown widens after Satya Niketan tragedy

Thursday’s action in the historic market comes as the civic body dramatically expands enforcement against unauthorised construction and misuse of properties following the September 6 collapse of a paying guest accommodation in Satya Niketan that killed seven people.

The MCD said separately that it sealed 61 properties across Delhi on Thursday, carried out demolition action at 10 locations and issued 21 show-cause notices. Seven demolition orders were also passed as teams conducted enforcement across all 12 municipal zones.

The civic body has stepped up inspections of buildings considered dangerous or constructed in violation of sanctioned plans, while paying guest accommodations and properties with unauthorised additional floors have come under particular scrutiny.

The Chandni Chowk operation, however, has brought the economic consequences of the crackdown into sharper focus. Kucha Mahajani is one of Old Delhi’s established jewellery and bullion trading hubs, where individual establishments can hold substantial quantities of precious metals.

Traders are expected to seek relief against the sealing action while pressing authorities to allow access to the valuables trapped inside the establishments. The dispute could also intensify demands that the MCD explain why alleged building or land-use violations were permitted to continue before the sudden citywide enforcement drive triggered by the Satya Niketan tragedy.