Urban Development Minister Jaipal Reddy has come to the rescue of NGOs in the capital, who were being sealed out by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. The minister asked the NGOs to suggest some norms and criteria that can provide the basis for regularisation of NGO activity in residential and mixed-land use areas. Following the meeting with the minister last week, the NGOs have submitted a note to the ministry. At least 12 NGOs in the South Delhi district have been sealed so far. These include the Wildlife Trust of India and SOS Villages of India. The move started after the Master Plan 2021 was notified and an interim order to spare NGOs became ineffective. The Delhi Master plan does not have any room for NGOs. Hence, they had approached the Supreme Court last week. However, the court did not give an interim stay order on the drive and the hearing was posted for July. The NGOs, about 50 of them, subsequently rushed to the ministry seeking relief as more closures were feared before the next hearing. A representative of NGO Jagori, which is coordinating the NGO effort, said the challenge now was to make norms as inclusive as possible, while drawing validation from the standards laid down in the Master Plan. Several parameters were mentioned in the meeting of the NGOs with the minister as possible considerations in defining this boundary