India, Oct. 9 -- The paan-stained walls, pain-chipped columns, and poorly maintained corners of Connaught Place market come back into focus with traders lamenting the lack of cleaning and housekeeping, even as the New Delhi Municipal Council has initiated efforts for the mechanised cleaning and scrubbing of Hanuman temple complex at the neighbouring Baba Kharak Singh Marg. Meanwhile, a project for similar mechanised cleaning and washing of the CP market has remained stuck in bureaucratic logjam for over three years.

Despite New Delhi Municipal Council figuring among the top performers in the Swachh Survekshan India's annual cleanliness survey, conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), traders at the central business...