Relief for 6,000 residents of Indira Colony as HC halts demolition drive

The Hindu Bureau

New Delhi

Over 6,000 residents of Indira Colony in north-west Delhi have received a temporary reprieve as the Delhi High Court ordered a stay on a demolition drive scheduled for Saturday and directed that no coercive action be taken until the next hearing on July 31.

The court passed the interim order on a petition filed by the Indira Colony Resident Welfare Association, which challenged an eviction notice issued by the Northern Railway on July 4, citing “unauthorised occupation” of railway land. The court observed that the issue “requires further examination”.

Broken promise

Amid legal proceedings, the issue drew sharp political reactions. At a press conference, Leader of the Opposition Atishi said: “Before elections, the Prime Minister promised every slum dweller a pucca house under the slogan ‘Jahan Jhuggi, Wahan Makaan’. But ever since the BJP came to power, bulldozers have arrived at poor people’s homes.”

Former Shalimar Bagh AAP MLA Bandana Kumari said panic spread in the area on July 4 when the notice was pasted. “This is CM Rekha Gupta’s constituency. Despite her assurances, bulldozers razed one jhuggi earlier. Now, Indira Camp faces the same threat,” she said.

While there was no immediate response from the BJP, the CM had previously assured residents that no demolition would occur without legal process or rehabilitation, and that any demolitions under way were court-directed.

Policy breach

The petitioners argued that the eviction violated Article 21 of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and dignity, including shelter, and that authorities had not followed due process under the Delhi Slum and JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015, and the 2016 Draft Protocols.

“None of the required steps were taken,” it said, pointing out that the colony appears as Serial No. 74 on the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board’s (DUSIB) list of 675 eligible jhuggi jhopri (JJ) bastis. The protocol mandates that the land-owning agency must send a request to DUSIB, which must examine the eligibility of the basti for rehabilitation. Only if found ineligible, can demolition proceedings begin, the plea said.

Appearing for the Northern Railway, the Central government’s counsel submitted that the land belongs to the railway and that the occupants were in “illegal possession”. The eviction notice, the counsel argued, was issued in accordance with the law.