A temple, mosque & week-long power cut. Land dispute in Delhi's Jai Hind camp is taking political shape

The Print

18-07-2025

The crackdown stems from a Delhi district court order issued in May 2024, which directed BSES to remove all illegal electricity connections in the area. The court had observed that BSES had failed to inspect the premises or assess whether power was being illegally diverted.
New Delhi: More than 5,000 residents of Jai Hind Camp in Delhi's Vasant Kunj have been without electricity since Tuesday last week after BSES officials, accompanied by the police, removed three power meters, two installed at a temple and the other at a mosque, that were supplying electricity to the entire settlement through questionable sub-meters.
'No effort has been made… to assess whether any electricity is being diverted from the electricity meters in question to any premises other than the premises where it is sanctioned,' the order reviewed by ThePrint noted, adding that BSES 'did not care to conduct any inspection at the premises in question'.
The case involves allegations by landowners that the occupants have set up unauthorised jhuggis and obtained electricity and water connections in their own names.
'The connection was taken in the name of a mosque and a temple. They were supplying electricity to the entire camp. That violates the terms and conditions. The connection was not meant for the entire camp. It was meant only for the premises of the temple and mosque,' a senior police official said to ThePrint.
ThePrint has also learnt that outstanding electricity dues—approximately Rs 4 lakh for a meter at the mosque and Rs 11 lakh for one of the meters at the temple—were a factor in the disconnection.
A member of the temple committee said to ThePrint that the main electricity meter had been installed in the temple, but it was meant to serve the entire camp, adding that people paid their share based on sub-meter readings. 'When electricity couldn't be provided across the whole area, it was divided between two main meters and distributed accordingly,' the member said.
Another person aware of the matter and who lives in the area asked if electricity was meant just for the temple and the mosque, why were three meters with a capacity of 40kW were installed, when the requirements of the premises were much lower? The person asked not to be named. There was no word from BSES on this matter or on whether they were aware if the sub-meters existed in the area.
Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee criticised the move. 'There are over 1.5 crore migrant workers in Bengal who live with dignity. But the same cannot be said for BJP-ruled states, where Bengalis are being treated as infiltrators in their own country. Speaking Bengali does not make one a Bangladeshi. These individuals are as much citizens of India as anyone else, regardless of what language they speak.'
ThePrint reached BJP MP and party spokesperson Praveen Khandelwal via calls and text. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
The matter of the disputed land was set for hearing on 18 July, 2025, which, according to sources, was one of the reasons why the electricity was cut now despite the order being more than a year old.
Explaining the sequence of events, the police official added: 'BSES had sent us a letter. They had tried to disconnect it earlier too. This time, they requested a police force for assistance. We provided it so they could carry out their duties safely.'
Residents said that around 3 to 4 months ago, nearly 20 BSES officials had come to disconnect the electricity, but they did not let them do so and requested them to leave.
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Disputed land
The land in question is in Masoodpur Village, Vasant Kunj. The landowners, in their suit, say their names have been recorded in official government revenue records (Khatoni) from 1984-85 until 2014, and that the land was traditionally used for cultivation by them and other co-owners.
In 1982, Masoodpur was declared an urban village under the Delhi Municipal Act.
Although much of the village land was acquired by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in 1980, this particular parcel was left out of the acquisition process.
The ownership dispute began in 2004, when the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) transferred the land to the Gaon Sabha, citing non-agricultural use—a decision the landowners challenged in court.
In 2015, the landowners discovered three electricity meters functioning within the settlement, one at a mosque and two at a temple, and filed a suit. The court found these connections to be unauthorised and used to distribute electricity across the camp through sub-meters.
Electricity bills running into lakhs—Rs 3.48 lakh for the mosque, and Rs 6.52 lakh and Rs 11 lakh for the two at the temple—within a short span, were cited as evidence of large-scale, unregulated use, which the court acknowledged.
The court noted the absence of any documentation proving that either religious structure existed before the installation of these meters in 2014.
'It is unlikely that a temple would consume electricity worth over Rs 3 lakh a month,' the court observed in a 2024 order. It stopped short of ordering demolitions and did, at the time, exempt three long-settled families from eviction, granting them relief until the next hearing.
At the same time, the court clarified that even though unauthorised occupants may be entitled to certain essential services, that does not include illegal or unregulated electricity use.
'Kids can't sleep'
As one enters the narrow lane leading to Jai Hind Camp, home to migrants primarily from West Bengal, followed by Assam, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh, proper roads are nowhere in sight.
The path is dotted with rainwater puddles, flanked by heaps of garbage and discarded rags. A stagnant pool has formed at the camp's entrance after recent rains, becoming a breeding ground for mosquitoes and waterborne diseases.
Most residents here work as domestic helpers, ragpickers, cab drivers, or delivery partners, barely making ends meet. Now, after more than a week without electricity, their already difficult lives have become even harder.
'We've been suffering since then. There are elderly people here, some are unwell, and some women are pregnant. It's been days of living like this, it feels like we're in hell,' said Nabi Hussain, a resident of Jai Hind Camp since 2001. His family is one of three exempted from eviction.
One resident, a domestic worker from West Bengal, broke down while speaking to ThePrint. She has two children, a 14-year-old and an 8-year-old, and said life has become unbearable since the power was cut.
'There are so many mosquitoes because of the rains, and it's so hot that my children can't sleep at night,' she said. As a result, neither of them has been going to school.
She leaves for work by 6 am every day. 'If I try to wake up my child that early, he begs to sleep a little longer because he hasn't rested. If I don't go to work on time, I get scolded. If I stay back to help them, I risk losing my job,' she explained, torn between earning a living and caring for her children.
'We are in deep trouble. I can't even explain how difficult it is,' she added. 'We're not asking for much, just give us our electricity back. That's all we want, so our children can go to school and we can go to work in peace.'
An 8-year-old boy playing near the waterlogged ground said he hadn't been to school since the power outage began. With no electricity, his family's phone couldn't be charged, and he has been unable to complete his assignments.
'Our teacher sends homework on WhatsApp, but the phone is dead,' he said simply, before running off to join his friends.
The documentation drive
Residents, however, allege that the power disconnection is part of a broader pattern of discrimination. They claim they're being unfairly targeted for being Bengali and suspected of being Bangladeshi nationals—despite having submitted valid identity documents verified in their hometowns.
Delhi police had launched a drive following a directive by the Lieutenant Governor's Secretariat to the Delhi Chief Secretary and Police Commissioner on 10 December last year to identify and take action against 'illegal immigrants from Bangladesh' residing in Delhi.
'In the last 6 to 7 months, we have deported 39 undocumented migrants from the Vasant Kunj area alone,' a senior police officer told ThePrint while confirming that none of them had been from the Jai Hind Camp.
Multiple verification drives were conducted at the Jai Hind camp as well but nobody from there had been identified as an 'Illegal immigrant', the officer added.
The officer said similar document verification drives have been carried out in other parts of the South West district—including in Rangpuri Pahari, where settlements like Sapera Camp, Gulabo Camp, Israil Camp, Shankar Camp, and Nala Camp are located. Drives have also taken place in areas such as Ruchi Vihar, and Nangal Dewat.
According to information accessed by ThePrint, approximately 150 people identified as 'illegal migrants' have been deported from the South West district through the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in Delhi.
A team of six police officials was also sent to West Bengal for cross-verification. However, according to the police officer, the lack of cooperation from the local police made their task difficult.
'We are Indians,' said Sheikh Javed Ali, a resident of the Camp for the past 19 years and who works as a domestic help in a nearby farmhouse. 'Most of the people here are Bengalis from West Bengal, not from Bangladesh.'
Ali said that despite repeated surveys conducted by police and the other authorities, residents have been doubted as Bangaldeshis. 'They've come here multiple times, even visited our hometowns to verify our identity,' he added.
He recalled showing his birth certificate and other documents to prove his Indian citizenship. 'I've submitted everything. I'm not from Bangladesh and I'm ready to follow the law. But if I've already proven my identity, why am I still being harassed?'
'Neither the Congress, AAP, nor BJP has come this time,' said Hussain adding how, during elections, all the parties would show up, walking the same lanes and acting like they were part of the community.
'They promised us electricity connections, government meters in every home, water pipelines, even proper roads. But nothing ever happened.' he told ThePrint.
Now, he added, it feels like they don't even recognise the people they once courted. 'If we're asked to leave, where will we go?' he asked.
A senior police official, however, denied any link between the power cut and the ongoing drive to identify 'illegal migrants' in Delhi.
'The disconnection has nothing to do with our drive to identify illegal Bangladeshi nationals, which began last year. The power was cut in compliance with a court order,' the official told ThePrint.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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