PM intervenes in demolitions row

One shopping mall has already been demolished

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has intervened in the controversy over illegal constructions in Delhi.

He has instructed that a committee be formed to find a solution to the thousands of demolitions ordered by the Delhi High Court.

Earlier on Tuesday the court rejected a petition filed by 13 fashion designers asking to put a stop to the demolition of illegal shopping malls.

Reports say top private schools also face demolition threats.

Last year the court ordered the demolition of at least 18,000 illegal structures across Delhi.

Special committee

The prime minister's decision came after a meeting in the capital with Delhi's chief minister, Sheila Dikshit, the federal home minister, Shivraj Patil and the urban development minister, Jaipal Reddy.

Mr Reddy said that the prime minister has asked for a committee to be formed, under the federal urban development ministry, that would study all illegal constructions, except those on government land.

The municipality is targeting over 18,000 buildings for demolitions

The panel is expected to give its report within three months.

Several top fashion designers, like Rohit Bal and Suneet Verma, have showrooms in malls on Delhi's upscale Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road, which have been declared illegal.

At least one big shopping mall has already been completely demolished.

The designers' petition says that the area where the malls are being demolished is on the city's fringes and comes under a rural belt, so the building laws of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) cannot be applicable. But the court rejected their plea.

Schools to reply

Ten high profile private schools in the city's posh Vasant Kunj area have also received notices from MCD, Indian media reports say.

The notices reached these schools on Monday night, which said that there are illegal construction within their premises.

"The schools will be given an opportunity to put forth their point of view before a final decision is taken," MCD spokesman Deep Mathur told the Times of India.

MCD has given three days to the schools to reply to the notices. The schools will be given a further six days notice to remove unauthorised constructions.

"It is just a media hype and we will try to solve it," Dhriti Malhotra, principal of Ryan International School, one of the schools who received the MCD notice, told the Times of India.