Nirmal Gorana Agni, convener of Mazdoor Awas Sangharsh Samiti, acknowledged that the Supreme Court refused to stay eviction orders. But, he said, the apex court has not refused to provide rehabilitation.
Ghazala Ahmad |Clarion India
NEW DELHI — Hundreds of disheartened, distressed and dejected people, uprooted from their hearths and homes in Tughlaqabad village in South Delhi in this week’s Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) operation, braving heavy showers gathered at Jantar Mantar in the national capital on Wednesday to protest their eviction and demand an orderly and early rehabilitation.
At least 1,000 families were forced to go shelterless when bulldozers roared into their area in the wee hours of April 30. The ASI and MCD operation was carried out in pursuance of a Delhi High Court order which on April 24 mandated the removal of encroachments within four weeks.
According to protesters, the South East Delhi Deputy Commissioner, Sub Divisional Officer Kalkaji, ASI, and Delhi Development Authority (DDA) demolished more than 1,000 houses hastily and without proper rehabilitation measures, rendering hundreds of thousands of people homeless. The affected families are now struggling to survive without any support from the government.
However, the case of Mazdoor Awas Samiti (MAS) vs Archaeological Survey of India is still pending in Delhi High Court wherein the next hearing is scheduled for 4th August.
On January 27, the MSA approached the court seeking rehabilitation of the residents displaced by ASI in its anti-encroachment drive.
In the last hearing on 18 April, the high court directed the ASI, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) and DDA to sit together and ensure rehabilitation for the residents of Tughlaqabad, whose houses now stand demolished, and to inform about the same to it on the date of the next hearing (August 4th).
Krishna Devi, a protesting Tughlaqabad village evacuee, expressed her disenchantment with the authorities and told Clarion India: “My husband had already left me, and I have no children to support. I had a shelter at my head and I was on my own, now I don’t even have one. I am waiting for the government to provide me with an alternate roof.”
“My hopes are fading, nobody is helping me”, she said with dismay written large on her face.
Neetu Devi, another affected resident, is unable to find a new home. “The rents are too high for me to afford,” she said.
She is stuck amidst the debris of her former home and is asking the government to initiate rehabilitation measures.
Manik Kumar Valmiki, whose home was also bulldozed, said: “The government’s actions are unjust. Our only request is to stop demolishing homes without effective rehabilitation schemes put in place.”
He said economically weaker sections and people of Dalit community are being disproportionately affected by the demolition drives.
Nirmal Gorana Agni, convener of Mazdoor Awas Sangharsh Samiti, acknowledged that the Supreme Court refused to stay eviction orders. But, he said, the apex court has not refused to provide rehabilitation.
“The court has directed the authorities to provide an alternate shelter to the displaced people but it is their carelessness and dilly-dallying that is making the people suffer,” he said.
“It is raining heavily in Delhi right now, and the poor and hapless people don’t have a place to take shelter. All their belongings are also being destroyed in heavy rains.”
He said the DDA and the ASI should allot land for the immediate rehabilitation of the affected families.
The organisation has also pledged to continue its support to the affected families in their fight for proper rehabilitation measures.
