New Delhi, Mar 27 (PTI) The Delhi High Court Monday dismissed a plea by slum dwellers of Bela Estate on the Yamuna floodplains here, seeking their rehabilitation following an eviction notice.
The high court said the petitioner, Bela Estate Mazdoor Basti Samiti, has neither proved the fact that these jhuggi-jhopdi (JJ) clusters were notified by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) nor that the jhuggis were constructed before January 1, 2015.
Hence, the slum dwellers are not entitled for the relief of rehabilitation as per DUSIB’s Delhi Slum and JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015, the court said.
“This court is of the considered view that the petitioners are not entitled for rehabilitation as per DUSIB Policy, 2015. Consequently, in view of the detailed discussions, the present writ petition is dismissed,” Justice Gaurang Kanth said.
The court’s order came while deciding the petition challenging the eviction notices issued by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to the residents of Bela Estate here.
In pursuance of a 2015 order of the National Green Tribunal, DDA had issued eviction notices to the residents of Bela Estate directing them to remove illegal encroachment and to vacate the authority’s land.
The petitioner also sought a stay on eviction of the residents and that if they are evicted then they may be provided an alternative accommodation for rehabilitation by DUSIB.
The court said it is not the case of the petitioner that the JJ clusters in Bela Estate are notified by DUSIB and though it has been averred that Bela Estate is in existence for more than 70 years but no documentary evidence has been placed on record to support the averment.
“Further, in the present case, it has been admitted by the petitioner that DDA had conducted a survey during the period 2004 to 2006. As stated in the affidavit dated March 21, 2023 filed by DDA, pursuant to the survey, the DDA had allotted a total of 6,086 plots for alternative accommodation to the residents who were found eligible,” the court said.
The petitioner, claiming to be an association of residents of Bela Estate, said the slum clusters have been in existence for over 70 years and consist of more than 700 households.
It argued that most of the residents have been residing in the area prior to January 1, 2015 which is one of the requirements of the rehabilitation policy.
It said Bela Estate is a large JJ cluster on the western bank of river Yamuna and comprises five sub-areas namely China Colony, Bela Gaon, Malla Gaon, Moolchand Basti and Kanchan Puri. PTI SKV SKV KVK KVK
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