Heavy police force continue to be deployed in Kathputli Colony since last night as a part of yet another attempt by DDA to evict people without fulfilling court orders and legal entitlements of the residents. Electricity and water supply to residents has also been disconnected since this morning.
While the DDA and senior officials of the Delhi Police inform people that force will not be used against them, DDA also said it will not tolerate any instigation by residents or outsiders. Reports from this morning confirm that the DDA along with police personnel and some members of the community (who have a record of going against the interests of the public for their own benefits) are entering peoples homes and threatening them to sign demolition slips and agreements for rehabilitation. (photos attached, notice circulated by DDA attached)
The residents had filed a writ petition W.P.C. 1290/2014 and CM APPL. 3834/2014 in the Hon. High court in February 2014 in which the court ordered the following :(court order attached)
1. All genuine families must be included in the list of beneficiaries.2. Transit camp at Anand Parbat should be improved and made more livable.
3. DDA must respond to the violations of the Master Plan 2021 found in the site plan prepared by DDA and Raheja Developers.
4. Until then, no force shall be used to forcefully shift people of Kathputli Colony.
Despite not fulfilling the courts orders, the DDA is trying to mislead residents and force them to sign demolition slips by distributing notices that say that the families who are eligible but have not been included in the survey will be eventually included in the list of eligible families. The DDA believes that only 2641 families are eligible whereas the residents through their own survey have found over 3700 families residing in Kathputli Colony and most of them have documents to prove their residence as well. The court order clearly mentions that no force can be used until a re survey is completed and residents are satisfied with it. Over 1200 applications were filed by residents who have been excluded and till date none of them have been declared eligible by the DDA. Delhi has witnessed several evictions in the past where residents were denied the right to shelter for not being included in the list of eligible families by DDA prior to the evictions.
Any action by the Delhi Police to forcefully evict residents from Kathputli Colony is a direct violation of the Hon. High Court orders.
The residents of Kathputli Colony are also concerned about the use of fear and force to silence people and not include their demands and suggestions in public policies and the plan for redeveloping Kathputli Colony. (charter of demands attached) In August 2014, the Delhi police unleashed an attack in the middle of the night on the pretext of a fight amongst some locals and forcefully entered peoples homes, harassed women and children and detained several residents from their homes. 21 residents have been implicated in a false case of rioting on the night the police attacked the residents. (photos attached, PUCL report attached)
The residents of Kathputli Colony are not content with being rehabilitated in multi story housing as it will destroy their livelihoods and increase safety concerns. The DDA has also declared it will charge the residents Rs 1,40,000 approx. for each flat allotted to the residents even though they had been promised free housing by politicians and the builders are being given 2.1 hectares of the 5.2 hectares of land in return for building the flats for the EWS (economically weaker sections). Why did the DDA sell 5.2 hectares of prime land to a private developers for just Rs. 6 crores? Yet the DDA continues to pressurize residents, the question is to fulfill whose interest?
The DDA published a document on their website early in 2016 that acknowledges that the PPP project at Kathputli Colony is a failure primarily because people’s consent was not taken prior to the decision being taken. (document attached) Over 1000 families are being denied the right to shelter.
(Charter of demands of residents of Kathputli Colony attached)
(list of master plan violations by DDA and Raheja Developers attached.)
(Contract between DDA and Raheja Developers )
For more information, contact :Dilip Bhatt :9873361295
Feroza : 7503245276
Sunayana 9911550840Dunu Roy : 9910687627
December 22, 2016 at 6:38 pm
Despite court orders, deployment of police force and forced evictions is deplorable. The disconnection of water and electric supply must be immediately restored for the residents.