Delhi: Jhuggi demolition leaves thousands roofless on cold winter night

New Delhi: Several suffered injuries and hundreds, including women and children, were left homeless and made to spend the night in open in the cold Delhi weather as Forest department officials with the help of the police demolished around 400 jhuggis (huts) of Rangpuri Pahadi slum cluster near Israel Camp on the southern edge of Vasant Kunj on Tuesday. The residents said they had received no prior notice for evacuation. [caption id=“attachment_1824179” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The residents were served no notice by the authorities despite them having proof of residence. Tarique Anwar/Firstpost[/caption] The residents, mostly daily wage labourers, were not even allowed to take out their basic belongings before the houses were razed to the ground. When they demanded to see the court’s order or notice for the demolition, the officials concerned failed to show any legal authority to back their action. “The jhuggi-jhopri (slum clusters) did not come into existence overnight. I was born and brought up here, The area has developed with administration’s permission. We have electricity bills, voter identity and aadhar cards issued on these addresses. Political parties visit the area in election seasons asking for votes. Suddenly, the officials woke up and dubbed the colony illegal,” says 45-year-old Paru, a mason who originally belongs to Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh. [caption id=“attachment_1824247” align=“alignnone” width=“620”]  A majority of the residents alleged that the demolition was done on the behest of the leaders of a political party who had threatened them a few days back that they would be uprooted from the area because they did not vote for the party. Tarique Anwar/Firstpost[/caption] For Mukti Murmu from Jharkhand, this was a huge loss as she had allegedly paid a bribe of Rs 20,000 each to Forest department officials and the police from her husband’s hard earned money. Such jhuggi-jhopris across the national capital are the only access to housing that a significant section of the city’s working population can afford. “Pahle to police aur janglati ne paise liya, phir jhuggiyan bhi gira diya (First, the police and Forest department officials took money to allow us to erect a hut. Now, they raised it to ground),” says the mother of four children. “We struggle everyday to make both ends meet. How can we even dream of a one room shelter in this brutal city? Now, we are left with no option but to go back to our native place as we spent the little saving on securing this place here,” she said. Two minor children of Shakil Malick (40), a labourer, suffered major injuries when a bulldozer brought down his jhuggi while they were sleeping inside. “We had not been asked to evict the place. As usual, my two children – a five-year-old-daughter and a seven-year-old son - had returned from the local school and were lying on the floor after having lunch with their mother. Suddenly, a bulldozer hit my hut. Before they could come out, a small; wooden almirah fell on them causing serious injuries,” he said, narrating the ordeal. [caption id=“attachment_1824249” align=“alignnone” width=“620”]  Aadhaar and voter’s id cards that show residence proof of those residing in the area. Tarique Anwar/Firstpost[/caption] Bihar’s Bettiah resident Sobran Chaudhary (47), an auto driver by profession who settled here two-and-a-half years back, says when the bulldozers came, he rushed out with his driving license, ration card, voter’s ID card, PAN card and electricity bill from the same address to show and question the officials how his stay there is illegal. “They did not listen to me and bulldozed my shelter,” he said. “I want to remind Prime Minister Narendra Modi his pre-election promise that no one will be deprived of his or her basic right of shelter by way of demolition. What happened to your promise Mr PM?” he asked. A majority of the residents alleged that the demolition was done on the behest of the leaders of a political party who had threatened them a few days back that they would be uprooted from the area because they did not vote for the party. [caption id=“attachment_1824251” align=“alignnone” width=“620”]  The residents were not served notice by the authorities despite them storming out of their houses with ID proofs. Tarique Anwar/Firstpost[/caption] Residents claim that a metro line project and an eight-lane highway to Gurgaon through Rangpuri Pahari was recently approved and that is why the clean-up drive is going on. But ironically, this is being done at a time when thousands of homeless people are already forced to sleep on footpaths and under different flyovers in the chilly season. Forest department’s chief conservator AK Shukla said the demolition drive has been launched on the orders of National Green Tribunal, which wants the area to be fenced. When asked why an eviction notice was not served to the residents in advance, he passed the buck on Revenue department. “Revenue department is responsible for issuing the notice because it is their duty to remove encroachment and hand over the land to us,” said Shukla. On the other hand, the Revenue department argues why it will it serve any eviction notice when the land in question does not belong to it. Demolition is a common phenomenon in this country. It is done when a city decides to develop an area inhibited by low-income squatters. But these developments have led to a large-scale clearing of the city’s most populous slums, feel experts. Thousands of families are forced to shift to the outskirts where there are lack of job opportunities. Magsasay Award winner Dr Usha Ramanathan, an expert on law and poverty, says, “Even as the poor keep staring at the prospect of demolition, the assumption of powers by the state that can be exercised selectively and arbitrarily has continued to flourish in contradiction of the inclusive interpretations developed in human rights jurisprudence. The right to housing has been rendered invisible, even non-existent, in this exertion of power. The evolving meaning of ‘housing’ and ‘adequate housing’ and the injunction in the matter of forced evictions has been thrown into a cauldron of callous neglect.” [caption id=“attachment_1824253” align=“alignnone” width=“620”]  Picking up the bricks: After a surprise demolition drive, residents now have no option but to move back to their native places. Tarique Anwar/Firstpost[/caption]