Homes bulldozed at Delhi's Bhoomiheen Camp — minutes before HC heard petitions to stay demolition

Indian Express

2 days ago

Minutes before pleas to stay the demolition at Bhoomiheen Camp, in Southeast Delhi's Govindpuri, were heard by a vacation bench in the High Court on Monday, civic authorities had already started razing hutments. The two petitioners in the case lost their homes.
When the petition was taken up, Justices Tushar Rao Gedela and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar refused to halt the Delhi Development Authority's (DDA) action while issuing notices to the authorities.
The two-judge bench's refusal on Monday came days after the HC dismissed a clutch of petitions by slum dwellers against the impending eviction and demolition. Justice Dharmesh Sharma, on May 26 and May 30, had rejected the pleas.
The nearly three-decades-old slum cluster was home to migrants from UP, Bihar and West Bengal, among others, the single-judge bench was told during the hearings. The inhabitants included women who worked as domestic help, labourers in factories and local shops, and others who had meagre sources of income.
The petitioners had moved the court first in 2023, claiming that the DDA, in 'an arbitrary and illegal manner, proposed to demolish their jhuggi-jhopdis'. The proposal, they contended, was contrary to the Delhi Slum & JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015. It was contended that the surveys for their rehabilitation were conducted contrary to the policy, 'by an obscure, outsourced agency appointed by DDA'. It was also pointed out that due processes were not followed.
Justice Sharma, in the May 26 ruling against 44 dwellers who moved court, and the verdict for which was reserved last year on December 6, 2024, held that the DDA has 'substantially adhered to all prescribed procedures in surveying the JJ clusters in question'.
Refusing to set aside the survey, Justice Sharma emphasised that the petitioners have 'no vested right' to rehabilitation and that the earlier court-ordered interim stay on demolition 'has not only hindered the timely execution of the rehabilitation project but also resulted in a significant escalation of public expenditure.'
The court also recorded that as per the DDA, 'over Rs 835.88 crore has been expended in the process of in-situ rehabilitation of JJ dwellers of Bhoomiheen Camp,' adding that 'it cannot be overlooked that the rehabilitation process is time-sensitive, and any further extension of timelines would result in additional expenditure of valuable public funds and delay the rehabilitation of other clusters and JJ dwellers.'
Appeals by two petitioners from the earlier round of litigation — Manjoor Ali and Kashmir Lal — challenging Justice Sharma's order of May 26 and May 30, respectively, were before the vacation bench on Monday.
Moments before their petition was taken up, their houses were razed. The demolition action, pending the appeal, was highlighted before the division bench. It, however, refused to stay the demolition action, orally remarking that it is being undertaken in compliance with the single judge's order.
DDA also told the court that the dwellings of the petitioners were demolished.
The court has kept the matter next for consideration on July 7, when the rehabilitation issue is likely to be taken up.