
DDA issues eviction notices in Bhoomiheen JJ camp
New Delhi, The Delhi Development Authority has pasted fresh eviction notices at houses in the Bhoomiheen jhuggi-jhopri camp, warning encroachers to leave the spot within the next three days.
The camp, where most residents are migrant workers, has faced demolition drives thrice in the past this year May and June and July of 2023.
According to officials, only 1,862 households from the camp have been found eligible and were allotted economically weaker government accommodation.
'All the residents of Bhoomiheen Camp in Kalkaji Extension, are being informed that, as per the court's directions, illegal JJ clusters will be demolished,' the DDA eviction notice read.
'In this regard, three days June 8, 9 and 10 are being given. After this, the demolition drive will be carried out, DDA will not be responsible after that," it added.
While there was no response from DDA to present queries, earlier on June 6, the land-owning agency had stated that it carried out demolition of jhuggis at Bhoomiheen Camp in May, following the dismissal of writ petitions by the Delhi High Court.
According to the DDA, based on the DUSIB policy which includes dwellers staying in JJ colonies before January 1, 2015, 1,862 households were found eligible.
The residents have to have documentary evidence showing their names in electoral rolls and other such identity documents as residents of the camp before the 2015 cut-off date, it said.
"This action is crucial for reclaiming DDA land, completing housing projects for other JJ clusters in the vicinity, and preventing further illegal encroachments," the authority said.
The DDA noted that about 1,618 jhuggi structures were present in the Bhoomiheen Camp. Of these, 935 jhuggi structures were demolished in the past, while the remaining 683 structures could not be removed due to stay against demolition, adjacent jhuggis, and seven religious structures.

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Indian Express
4 hours ago
- Indian Express
‘Encroachers can't claim right to occupy public land pending their rehabilitation': Delhi HC refuses relief to over 350 slum dwellers
'Encroachers cannot claim the right to continue occupying public land, pending the resolution of their rehabilitation claims under the applicable policy, as this would unduly impede public projects,' the Delhi High Court held last Friday (June 6) while deciding pleas by as many as 417 residents of Bhoomiheen Camp in Kalkaji. The residents were seeking the HC's protection from demolition of their settlements as well as their rehabilitation. Reasoning that the right to seek rehabilitation, as it is, is not an absolute constitutional entitlement 'available to encroachers such as themselves', Justice Dharmesh Sharma added that 'determination of eligibility for rehabilitation is a separate process from the removal of encroachers from public land.' Of the over 400-odd petitioners, the HC granted some relief to around 30 of them. On June 2, minutes before petitions to stay demolition of homes at the slum in Southeast Delhi's Govindpuri were heard by a HC vacation bench, the civic authorities had already started razing down the hutments. The petitioners had challenged orders by Justice Sharma, on May 26 and May 30, where he had rejected the dwellers' pleas for protection from demolition and their rehabilitation. The petitioners had moved the court first in 2023, claiming that the Delhi Development Authority (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, and surveys for their rehabilitation were conducted 'by an obscure, outsourced agency appointed by DDA'. It was also pointed out that due processes were not followed. Justice Sharma, while closing a bunch of petitions moved by the 417 dwellers, ruled, '… it is evident that the interim injunctions obtained by the petitioners have not only hindered the timely execution of the rehabilitation project but have also resulted in a significant escalation of public expenditure, thereby causing financial strain on the State. Even assuming, arguendo, that the petitioners may have plausible grounds to assert a legal right to rehabilitation, a favourable adjudication would at best extend the scope of eligible beneficiaries under the prevailing rehabilitation policy. However, such a contention cannot translate into a right to indefinitely occupy public land or retain possession of their respective jhuggi jhopri dwellings, especially when the removal is in furtherance of a larger public interest and in accordance with due process.' What the court ruled -Among the 417 petitioners, for 165 who were occupying upper floors of the jhuggis, and those who approached the HC without exhausting the remedy of the appellate authority after their claim for rehabilitation was rejected by the Eligibility Determination Committee (EDC), the court dismissed their petitions. Such petitioners can, however, approach the appellate authority within six weeks, the court directed. However, the court clarified, such remedies 'shall not stand in the way of the DDA proceeding with the demolition action.' -The court also refused to grant any relief to a bunch of petitioners whose rehabilitation claims were rejected by the EDC as well as the Appellate Authority on the ground that they had failed to produce a valid and separate ration card in their individual names. -Justice Sharma, however, allowed relief for 26 petitioner-dwellers, whose rehabilitation claims were allowed by the appellate authority but were subsequently rejected by DDA. The court directed the competent authority 'to review, reconsider or recall their impugned decisions rejecting the claims of the present set of petitioners within six weeks, as per the 2015 policy, and to proceed with their relocation and rehabilitation in accordance with law.' -It dismissed pleas by 50 dwellers, where the appellate authority had rejected the claims on the ground that their names do not figure in the voter lists for the years 2012-2015, before the eligibility cut-off date, or on the ground that the voter card furnished by them was found to be invalid. -The court also dismissed pleas by six dwellers who were seeking two allotments against one jhuggi despite one allotment already made against the claimed structure. -In the case of one petitioner where the appellate authority allowed the claim but was not allotted an alternative dwelling unit, the HC directed DDA 'to proceed with the allotment of an alternative dwelling to the petitioner within six weeks, as per the 2015 Policy.'


Hindustan Times
6 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
DDA issues eviction notices in Bhoomiheen JJ camp
New Delhi, The Delhi Development Authority has pasted fresh eviction notices at houses in the Bhoomiheen jhuggi-jhopri camp, warning encroachers to leave the spot within the next three days. The camp, where most residents are migrant workers, has faced demolition drives thrice in the past this year May and June and July of 2023. According to officials, only 1,862 households from the camp have been found eligible and were allotted economically weaker government accommodation. 'All the residents of Bhoomiheen Camp in Kalkaji Extension, are being informed that, as per the court's directions, illegal JJ clusters will be demolished,' the DDA eviction notice read. 'In this regard, three days June 8, 9 and 10 are being given. After this, the demolition drive will be carried out, DDA will not be responsible after that," it added. While there was no response from DDA to present queries, earlier on June 6, the land-owning agency had stated that it carried out demolition of jhuggis at Bhoomiheen Camp in May, following the dismissal of writ petitions by the Delhi High Court. According to the DDA, based on the DUSIB policy which includes dwellers staying in JJ colonies before January 1, 2015, 1,862 households were found eligible. The residents have to have documentary evidence showing their names in electoral rolls and other such identity documents as residents of the camp before the 2015 cut-off date, it said. "This action is crucial for reclaiming DDA land, completing housing projects for other JJ clusters in the vicinity, and preventing further illegal encroachments," the authority said. The DDA noted that about 1,618 jhuggi structures were present in the Bhoomiheen Camp. Of these, 935 jhuggi structures were demolished in the past, while the remaining 683 structures could not be removed due to stay against demolition, adjacent jhuggis, and seven religious structures.


New Indian Express
13 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Encroachers can't claim right to occupy public land during rehab: Delhi High Court
NEW DELHI: A nearly 30-year-old slum cluster in South Delhi's Kalkaji is set for demolition after the Delhi High Court ruled that encroachers cannot indefinitely occupy public land while their rehabilitation claims are pending. The court observed that permitting such occupation would obstruct crucial public works and development projects. The order, delivered on June 6 by Justice Dharmesh Sharma, came while hearing a batch of petitions filed by residents of Bhoomiheen Camp, an informal settlement largely inhabited by migrants from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal. Around 1,200 people had approached the court seeking a stay on demolition, asking the DDA to maintain status quo and not evict them until they were surveyed and rehabilitated under the 2015 Delhi Slum and JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy. The court, however, dismissed their plea, noting that the petitions were flawed due to improper clubbing of multiple parties and causes of action. It further stated that the petitioners had failed to meet the eligibility conditions under the 2015 policy to qualify for rehabilitation. 'None of the petitioners have any legal right to continue occupying the JJ cluster incessantly, to the detriment of the public at large,' the court said, adding that the right to rehabilitation arises only from policy, not from the Constitution. It also clarified that removal of encroachments and eligibility for rehabilitation are separate processes and pending claims cannot justify delaying demolition. The court allowed the DDA to proceed with demolition as per law and directed that eligible residents be allotted flats under EWS category.