Even as the residents of the capital celebrated Diwali, Manish Tripathi had to contend with losing the roof above his head as he was told that he was living in an ‘unauthorized’ area belonging to the land department of Delhi govt.
“I am not prepared to vacate his place at any cost. Seven khasras of this area have received notice for eviction. There are more than 2,000 houses in this area, with a population of over 10,000,” said Tripathi (36), a resident of Jharoda Majra in northwest Delhi’s Burari, who works for a private firm.
He claimed that a week before Diwali, a demarcation survey was carried out in the area. Residents were assured that it was just a survey and he needn’t worry. However, on Diwali, they got to know that they would be evicted from the place.
He is one of the several thousands of people either lost or losing their homes in three locations in the national capital. Recently, three prominent places in the national capital came under scanner, in which the notice for demolition drive was served, alleging that the land on which the houses stand are encroached by the people living there.
A demolition drive was carried out in Sunder Nursery in Nizamuddin, making a large number of people homeless, while the residents of Burari and Noor Nagar in Okhla are in constant fear of losing their accommodation in the midst of winter.
“Because of the administration, we are standing at a place where we cannot go anywhere. Why did they let us settle down at this place in the first place,” said 29-year-old Gulab Maurya, a Burari resident, and a civil services aspirant.
Maurya claimed that in 1993, they purchased the land by paying Rs 50,000, and they have water, electricity and even MTNL connections. According to him, they have got a stay order from the court till February 20, 2024 against the demolition. “People have been living here for years. We have got all the facilities over here, including good connectivity, schools etc. Why does the administration want to make us homeless?” asked Maurya.
Since most of the people are living in the area for years, they have got emotionally attached to the place.
“I got married at this very same place and even my sister got married here. Now, I am planning to get my brother married also. We have been attached to this place for more than two decades,” said Ajay Kumar (30), a resident.
He added that in the last three decades, they were not told that the land on which they are living belongs to the land department but suddenly they were told to vacate the place. “We have got ration cards, Aadhaar Cards, voter ID cards registered at this place. Why were these issued to us ?” he said.
70-year long legal battle for burari residents
Jharoda Majra area, Burari where the residents are facing eviction, is located near Yamuna Bio Diversity Park, one of the largest such parks in Asia. Notably, the land in question is witnessing a 70-year-old legal battle which the residents say they were not aware of.
After the partition, the land owner Shobhat Ram, who migrated from Pakistan’s Punjab province, was given the land under the Displaced Person (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act in 1954.In partial relief, he got some land in Punjab Khor but a balance of 17 bigha and 10 biswa of the land remained unallocated. His son Ram Chander took over the land in Jharoda Majra in 1961 following which the case began on the non-allocation of the remaining land.
It was argued that the given land was too remote for the family and they never possessed it physically. In 1995, the Burari allocation was canceled and a different parcel of land was allotted in Mehrauli. Later in 1999, however, the allocation was reinstated while the Mehrauli allocation was canceled. Later in 2016, Ram Chander’s grandson, Neeraj, filed a writ petition contending his family had still not received possession of the over 17 bigha land in Burari. He also filed a contempt petition in the Delhi High Court over his land.
“We will fight it in court..Whatever the legal remedies available, we will fight in the court.. I don’t want to say anything more as the case is before the court,” said Varun Phogaat, his counsel. The court asked the land and building department to complete demarcation and hand over possession while fixing a deadline for October 13. Residents got a fresh notice of eviction on November 9.
HC denies relief to slum cluster near sunder nagar
Last week, the Delhi High Court refused to recall its earlier order against the residents of ‘jhuggi jhopri basti’ at Sunder Nursery, near DPS Mathura Road, paving the way to the demolition of the settlements. The slum dwellers approached the high court seeking review of its February 18, 2019 order, saying the court “had erred” in the order which concluded the jhuggi jhopri cluster was not in existence before January 1, 2006. According to them, the court’s conclusion that none of the residents had annexed any documents showing electricity connection to the dwelling is not relevant to the issue.
Dismissing it, a division bench of Justices V Kameswar Rao and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora said: “We are of the view that the review petition, apart from being barred by time, no ground has been made out seeking review/recall of order dated February 18, 2019.”
The court, in 2019, cited satellite images of area pertaining to the year 2004, 2006 and 2017. “The satellite image of the area in 2004 clearly indicates that there was no jhuggi jhopri on the said land. The satellite image dated 15.10.2006 also clearly indicates that no jhuggi jhopri cluster on the said land. The satellite image of 12.03.2017 indicates that there is some encroachment on the said land. However, there has been a significant increase in the jhuggies surrounding the said land,” it held.
In view of the images, there can be no controversy that the slum cluster did not exist on the said land as on January 1 2006 and, thus, the petitioners’ contention that they are residents on the said land since past several decades cannot be accepted, the court said. “The documents produced by the petitioners for indicating that they were residents on the said land cannot be relied upon, in view of the clear satellite images indicating that there was no jhuggi jhopri basti on the said land,” it said, while dismissing the plea.
Arguments of the dwellers
The slum dwellers argued that they possessed documents such as election ID card, Aadhaar Card etc which proved that they were residing in the jhuggi jhopri cluster before January 1, 2006. However, the bench, referring to the earlier order, said if the residents could get an election card, bank account, Aadhaar Card etc, they could also have got electricity connections to their dwelling units.
The earlier order pointed out if unauthorised constructions are not removed at the concerned khasra and its surrounding area and a satisfactory report is not filed, the court would be constrained to initiate contempt proceedings against the land-owning department and its officers, the bench noted.
As per the plea, a survey carried out in 2012 features the names of 212 families residing in the JJ Cluster.
It further said that if the 2012 survey was in place, the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board could not have argued that the JJ Cluster was not in existence before January 2006.
The basti was a notified cluster in Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board’s list of notified basti clusters and hence were entitled to protection under the Delhi Slum & Jhuggi Jhopri Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015, the plea argued.
500 families rendered homeless after demolition drive
Following the dismissal of residents’ plea, a demolition against alleged encroachments was carried out in slum near Sunder Nursery which rendered 500 families homeless, without any rehabilitation. Kiran (40), a widow who caims she was living in the cluster for more than two decades, said that after the demolition, she and her family had become homeless.
“I have no place to go to. I have two young daughters and I fear for their safety. I have kept my belongings in my relative’s house. Where will we go? Why did they not provide us rehabilitation, before demolishing our houses? This is how justice is done to the poor,” she rued.
Some people whose houses were demolished have either shifted to other parts of the city by paying a good chunk of their savings as rent or have been forced to live under the open sky.“We have got a notice saying that this land should be vacated. We did not get enough time to take out our belongings,” said Naseema Begum, who was sitting on a cot lying at the demolition site.
She said that they have neither had food or slept properly for the last couple of days. “During election time, the politicians came here and asked for votes. Now, nobody is supporting us. We are not going to vote for anybody in the future,” she said.
“My wife is seven month pregnant. Now, we have rented a place in Jaitpur where we will be paying Rs 8,000 per month as rent. Children in our joint family used to go to schools nearby this place. Now, we have to change their school too,” said Mohammad Nadeem, another resident.
The people whose houses got demolished said that they need immediate help in view of the harsh winter weather. Attempts by this newspaper to seek comments on the issue from V.S.Fonia, chief engineer, DUSIB did not bear fruit.
Over 200 houses face demolition in Noor Nagar area
“Five years back, I shifted from Bihar to Noor Nagar in Okhla to earn a living by working as a maid in a nearby locality. Now, we have got a notice, dated November 18, 2023, that this area of Okhla Gram khasra 67, 68 belongs to Irrigation Department of UP and all the illegal encroachments on the land, whether it is jhuggi/jhopdi, tin shed or pukka house, should be removed,” says Algun Nisha, a resident of Noor Nagar Pahadi area.
“I earn Rs 3,000-4,000 per month by working in nearby houses. Where will I go and find work again, if I will have to leave this place,” she added. Like her, there are scores of people in that area who fear being evicted from the land they have been living in for years.
Sona (40), who has been living in that place for more than a decade and is engaged in the work of beldari, said that due to pollution in Delhi, the construction work has been stopped and she is not earning anything these days.
“There are seven people in my family. I have been paying a rent of Rs 2,000 per month to live on this land. I am trying hard to find a new place to relocate, but I am not getting one, as the rent which they are asking for is too high, like Rs 10,000-12,000”, she added.
Sabeela Khatun, another resident, said that she has been living on that land for more than 30 years after buying it. “A few days back, some people came, gave us notice and told us to vacate this place within seven days or they will not be responsible for any losses or damage,” she said. According to her, there are more than 200 houses in that area which will be impacted.
Political blame game continues between BJP & AAP
The demolition drive near Sunder Nursery, which falls in Jangpura assembly constituency, has led to a political blame game too. Blaming BJP, AAP said that the saffron party is attempting to demolish the homes of the poor and marginalized people living in slums continuously. The BJP hit back and said that the AAP legislators are trying to score political mileage over the situation of people.