Delhi: Authorities launch demolition drive in Ashok Vihar

Authorities launched a demolition drive in northwest Delhi’s Ashok Vihar on Monday, with around 250 police personnel deployed to maintain law and order, officials said.

A Special Task Force (STF) arrived in the Jailer Wala Bagh area in the morning along with excavators to begin the drive. Officials stated that over 200 homes built on government land are marked for demolition.

Last Wednesday, a similar action took place at the Bhoomiheen Camp in southeast Delhi’s Govindpuri, where the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) demolished 344 structures under police protection. According to a DDA statement, most of these structures were vacant.

“Around 344 jhuggi structures existed which were mostly vacant. There is no stay against their demolition,” the statement said. Residents had been served notices asking them to vacate by June 10, after their petitions were dismissed by the court.

The DDA stated that the site is designated for an in-situ slum rehabilitation project, intended to house around 4,500 dwellers from nearby Navjeevan Camp and Jawahar Camp. However, work on the project had been stalled for the past two-and-a-half years due to encroachments, despite alternative housing being provided to eligible residents at Kalkaji Extension.

The ongoing demolition, according to the DDA, targets encroachments by ineligible dwellers on five acres of its land.

Under the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board’s rehabilitation policy, a household is considered eligible for alternative accommodation if the head of the family is listed in any voter roll from 2012 to 2015 and possesses one of 12 documents such as an electricity bill or driving licence.

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Between November 2022 and May 2023, 1,862 eligible families from Bhoomiheen Camp were relocated to flats designated for the economically weaker section (EWS) at Pocket A-14 in Kalkaji Extension, the authority added.

The DDA noted that residents were given a chance to appeal, and the Delhi High Court had recently dismissed all pending cases related to the matter. Residents are deemed ineligible if the jhuggi is used for commercial purposes, the occupant’s name is absent from the specified voter lists, upper-floor occupants lack separate ration cards, or if supporting documents are missing.

(With inputs from PTI)