NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed a plea challenging the eviction notices issued to over 300 families in the Yamuna Bazar area. The demolition is likely to start on Wednesday.
The Yamuna Bazar area falls within Delhi’s ecologically sensitive O-Zone along the Yamuna floodplain, which reportedly faces recurring flooding risks.
The judge declined the relief, saying that the petition was filed by an association, Yamuna Bazar Residents Welfare Association, but lacked the proper authorisation from its members and their binding affidavit to bear the consequences. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav also declined the petitioner’s request to stay the proposed demolition action for a week.
The petition had sought quashing of the demolition notices issued under the Disaster Management Act, and interim protection against coercive action. It claimed the action was arbitrary and based on “unsubstantiated claims of disaster risk in the Yamuna floodplains”.
After hearing the submission, the judge said, “In the absence of the authorisation, the petition is not maintainable. They are at liberty to file a proper petition with the authorisation of the residents.”
The petition claimed that the order was “wholly arbitrary, and unconstitutional” and violative of various fundamental rights.
It alleged the authorities had “mechanically treated the entire historical settlement as an illegal encroachment cluster without considering the longstanding historical, cultural, religious and architectural identity of the Yamuna Ghats, and the Panda communities residing therein for generations.”
The petition highlighted the cultural and religious implications of the demolition, warning that the exercise would not only displace residents but also erase a longstanding socio-religious ecosystem tied to the Yamuna riverfront. The authorities had adopted a mechanical and one-size-fits-all approach, the petitioner had submitted in the court.
