Plea to halt demolition of refugee camp rejected
Justice Dharmesh Sharma, who delivered the verdict on May 30, made it clear that the petitioner, Ravi Ranjan Singh, and others living in similar conditions, have 'no right to continue to occupy the area in question.' The Court also lifted the interim protection it had granted on March 13 last year, which had barred the DDA from taking action against Singh.
The refugee settlement in question lies in the Yamuna floodplains, a highly sensitive ecological zone. The Court noted that the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has already given clear instructions to government bodies like the DDA to reclaim such areas from illegal occupation and to begin work on restoring the Yamuna's ecological health.
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