NEW DELHI: Thousands of people who have been evicted from their homes in slums, jhuggies, settlement colonies and informal sector workers who have been denied their livelihood without any rehabilitation, protested on Tuesday to raise their voice against the “Bulldozer Raj” at Jantar Mantar.
The protestors made placards and slogans saying, “Bulldozer raj band karo”, “Shahri gareebon ko adhikaar dena hoga”, “jis zameen par basein hain, jo zameen sarkari hai, wo zameen humari hai.”
Suraj Kumar (28), a protester, said that his house at Gyaspur Colony, Hazrat Nizamuddin, was demolished by Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on the pretext of being built on DDA’s land. He added that now he faces difficulty to travel from Geeta Colony to Nizamuddin to earn for his living.
With their houses being demolished without alternative accommodation, protesters said that they are forced to rent rooms for shelter. Shishpal Chauhan, another protester who came from Faridabad said, “My house near railway line was demolished by railway officers and now my family lives in a rented room for which we have to pay Rs 5,000 per month.”
Street hawkers also bear the brunt of eviction from their vending spot. Samina, who sells vegetables near Bharat Colony in Faridabad, said that she was removed from the spot, despite having Certificate of Vending (COV). Apart from her, 75 others were also evicted. Terming eviction as “modern day slavery”, Nirmal Gorana Agni, Convenor, Mazdoor Awas Sangharsh Samiti said that according to the Street Vendors Act, 2014, it is illegal to remove these shops.
He added that the survey work for deciding vending and non-vending zones should be completed as early as possible, as it will provide certificates to those shops for running their business in the defined area. Condemning the act, President of Samajik Nyay Evam Adhikar Samiti, Deendayal Gautam said, “Forced displacement should be halted immediately and no eviction should be done before rehabilitation”. However, a senior MCD official said that eviction drives happen as per the law but refused to comment on rehabilitation process.