NEW DELHI: The Delhi HC has turned down a plea asking the Delhi Development Authority not to remove or demolish a refugee camp set up by Pakistani-Hindu migrants at Majnu Ka Tila, unless they are first given another place to live.
Justice Dharmesh Sharma, who delivered the verdict on May 30, made it clear that the petitioner, Ravi Ranjan Singh, and others living in similar conditions, have “no right to continue to occupy the area in question.” The Court also lifted the interim protection it had granted on March 13 last year, which had barred the DDA from taking action against Singh.
The refugee settlement in question lies in the Yamuna floodplains, a highly sensitive ecological zone. The Court noted that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has already given clear instructions to government bodies like the DDA to reclaim such areas from illegal occupation and to begin work on restoring the Yamuna’s ecological health.
“Given the critical condition of the Yamuna River, this Court unhesitatingly finds that no interference with the ongoing restoration and rejuvenation efforts of the river can be countenanced at the petitioner’s instance. This stance holds irrespective of any humanitarian or sympathetic considerations advanced before the Court, as such indulgence would inevitably obstruct and delay the timely and effective implementation of the aforementioned public projects,” the Court said.
Singh had also urged the Court to direct the DDA to build embankments along the Yamuna to protect colonies and religious structures, just as had been done for the Akshardham Temple and the Commonwealth Games Village. But this was rejected too. The Court stated that the refugee residents cannot be accommodated under the DUSIB rehabilitation policy because they are not Indian citizens.
In a clear direction to those affected, the bench stated that these refugees should begin the process of acquiring Indian citizenship.