NEW DELHI: The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) carried out demolition drives in northwest and north Delhi on Monday to remove encroachments from government land, officials said.
In Ashok Vihar’s Jailorwala Bagh area, a Special Task Force (STF) team, accompanied by excavators and around 250 police personnel, razed over 200 structures. “A demolition drive was carried out in Ashok Vihar,” confirmed DCP (Northwest) Bhisham Singh.
Simultaneously, a similar operation was launched near a railway line in Wazirpur to clear "illegal settlements." Security was tight, with two companies of paramilitary forces and Delhi Police personnel deployed to maintain order, a senior officer said.
This marked the second clearance operation in the area this month. A previous drive on June 2 had stirred political attention. Reacting to it, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta remarked, “If a railway line is encroached and there is an accident, who will be responsible?” Authorities maintained that the action targeted only unlawful encroachments.
The DDA said that the drive at Jailorwala Bagh targeted structures belonging to ineligible occupants and those who had already been allotted alternative accommodation under the in-situ rehabilitation project.
In a statement issued after the operation, the DDA said that 1,078 eligible households from the JJ (Jhuggi Jhopri) cluster had already been relocated to newly built 1BHK flats at Swabhiman Apartments in Jailorwala Bagh. The remaining 567 structures belonged to dwellers found ineligible under the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB)’s 2015 relocation policy.
The ineligibility criteria, as outlined in the policy, included: use of jhuggis for commercial purposes, absence from electoral rolls between 2012 and 2015, and lack of essential documents proving residence prior to January 1, 2015. Individuals residing on upper floors without a separate ration card and minors were also deemed ineligible.
The DDA added that affected individuals were given an opportunity to appeal before an Appellate Authority headed by a retired District and Sessions Judge. Nine such appeals were allowed, and those households are now being allotted flats through a draw of lots.
Monday’s demolition drive excluded 250 households that had secured a stay order from the Delhi High Court.
The in-situ rehabilitation project, spread over nearly 35,600 square metres, cost Rs 421 crore (excluding land) and provides modern 1BHK flats with a carpet area of 31 sqm. Each flat includes a living room, bedroom, kitchen, bathroom, WC, and balcony, and was constructed at a cost of Rs 25 lakh per unit. Beneficiaries paid a heavily subsidised amount of Rs 1.41 lakh for the allotment. “The project was undertaken to provide dignified housing to the urban poor and bring planned development to the area,” the DDA stated.