Latest news with #DelhiDevelopmentAuthority
Indian Express
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Delhi to get its riverfront along Yamuna by June 30 next year
The ambitious Yamuna Riverfront project is slated for completion by June 30 next year, according to timelines set by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for its flagship floodplain restoration initiatives. Besides this, according to officials, Phase 1 of the cycle track linking different floodplain projects is to be finished by October 31 this year. Cleaning up the Yamuna and restoring its floodplains were a major poll issue during Delhi's elections. The BJP had claimed that the previous AAP government was unable to clean the river, despite spending thousands of crores on it. It promised in its poll manifesto that if it came to power, the river would be cleaned up and a riverfront would be developed along the lines of the Sabarmati riverfront in Gujarat. In the last two months, both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have held separate meetings regarding cleaning the river. The Indian Express had earlier reported that the riverfront, to be developed at the site of the erstwhile Millennium Park Bus Depot near Sarai Kale Khan, will come up on a 200-metre stretch. A central piazza, a topiary park, a local shopping centre along the lines of that in the Sunder Nursery, along with two parking areas and a river promenade, will come up over an area of 25 hectares. The piazza will host cultural events and there will be provisions for seating, fountains, statues and gardens, according to officials. The riverfront project is part of the DDA's plan to redevelop the 22-km river stretch between Wazirabad and Okhla barrage. The restoration and rejuvenation plan is divided into 11 different types of contiguous projects. Five of these, such as the Asita East and Kalindi Aviral, have already been developed; the rest are under various stages of development. The cycle link proposal, which is planned to link all existing floodplain projects, will be 21 km long on the western bank and 30 km long on the eastern bank. Officials said the cycle track will be developed as a green mobility corridor on both sides of the river. Officials have yet to provide details on how much of the project, which is slated to be completed in five months, falls under Phase 1 of the track. Senior government officials had earlier told The Indian Express that linking all 11 projects via walkways and cycle tracks is a major challenge. 'The projects are contiguous. The ultimate plan is to link all of them, but it is very challenging, not only because several parts of the floodplain are encroached upon, but also because other existing projects can come in the way of the linkage,' an official had said. Public Works Department Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh had discussed linking all floodplain projects in a meeting with DDA officials in May. The cycle track is likely to be made out of jute carpeting. Just last month, the DDA had announced that it would be using jute carpeting for all cycling tracks and pathways in its Yamuna projects, as it leads to dust mitigation and soil preservation. Devansh Mittal is a trainee correspondent with The Indian Express. He studied political science at Ashoka University. He can be reached at ... Read More
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Pak Hindu refugees in Delhi discuss future as eviction looms
New Delhi: Pakistani Hindu refugees from various Delhi settlements, fearing eviction, held a large panchayat to discuss their future. These Sindhi Hindu families, who fled religious persecution in Pakistan and were granted Indian citizenship last year, now feel betrayed. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now They live in five camps across Delhi, including part of Majnu Ka Tila near the Yamuna floodplain. Though no eviction notices have been issued by DDA, the community learned through the media about a recent high court ruling allowing the clearance of the Majnu Ka Tila settlement. "Where will we go? We were running, fleeing for our lives, and India is the only nation where we, as Hindus, could find safety. Now, even if we won't find a place to live here, where are we supposed to go? We don't have much education, cannot afford a lawyer, and were living off the help of our Hindu brothers here. Somehow, we managed to earn a living here, managed to send our children to school, to give them a life that we could never dream of. Now, this decision of the court has come as a knife to our hearts," said Sukhnandan, pradhan of Majnu Ka Tila, who came to India in 2012 and settled on vacant land next to a gurdwara. At the meeting, and a heated one, held at another settlement on the Yamuna floodplain near Signature Bridge, high-pitched discussions were on. Representatives from all six settlement camps in Delhi — Majnu Ka Tila, Signature Bridge, Adarsh Nagar, Bhatti Mines, Rohini Sector 11 and Rohini Sector 25 — had gathered there to discuss future action. They plan to meet chief minister Rekha Gupta to explore resettlement options. Last year, the community secured a temporary stay from the high court when eviction notices were first served, but the court recently upheld the DDA's eviction order. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "The new reports say that we will be evicted from the floodplain. That's two of our camps. It does not talk about our rehabilitation. We will seek time from Delhi's CM tomorrow, if required, even hold protests," said Dharamveer Bagri, another settler at Majnu Ka Tila, who hailed from Hyderabad in Sindh, Pakistan. Last July, days after some of them were granted citizenship, Delhi Development Authority issued the camp dwellers a notice, asking them to vacate their houses in 24 hours, pending a demolition drive scheduled for July 13 and 14. DDA's notice stated that the land was part of the Yamuna floodplain and all encroachments on river land adjacent to the gurudwara were ordered to be cleared by the National Green Tribunal. In an order dated May 30 by Justice Dharmesh Sharma, the court observed that it had earlier asked the Union of India, DDA, etc., to relocate and rehabilitate refugees on Yamuna floodplain. The court, however, noted that the effort bore no fruit. It also said that the court cannot undertake the exercise of framing a policy to ameliorate the plight of refugees.
The Hindu
10 hours ago
- General
- The Hindu
Bulldozers flatten Madrasi Camp amid heavy security
As dawn broke on Sunday, bulldozers rumbled into Madrasi Camp in south Delhi's Jangpura under the watchful eyes of a police contingent and started tearing down hundreds of houses in the decades-old slum cluster, while stunned residents, some teary-eyed, looked on. The demolitions were a result of a Delhi High Court order dated May 9, which directed the authorities to clear the area along the Barapullah drain as part of a restoration and cleaning drive for the 16-kilometre-long drain, which flows into the Yamuna river. Wiping her tears, Rani, a 50-year-old widow, said, 'My family left Madras [now Chennai] 55 years ago without any belongings. I built my house, which meant the world to me, from scratch. In a minute, they razed it.' The area was inhabited mostly by residents hailing from Tamil Nadu. 155 families not on list Of the 370 families in the area, 215 were found eligible for relocation under the 'Jahan Jhuggi Wahan Makaan' rehabilitation scheme. A total of 189 have been offered flats in Narela, while the remaining 26, found eligible under a revised list, are still awaiting allotment. Members of the other families, which were declared ineligible, said surveyors rejected their claims citing reasons such as their names missing from voter lists and minor spelling mismatch in their documents. While some families are said to have moved their belongings 40 km away to Narela, the exact count remains unclear. Several residents said the flats allotted to them lack basic amenities, including electricity and water, and have broken doors and no windows. The Delhi Development Authority, which allotted the flats, did not respond to these claims till the time of going to press. Revati, 50, said, 'Here [Jangpura], the rent is very high. The flat in Narela is too far and not liveable. I am stuck in this situation.' Annapurna, 60, added, 'Would sitting inside those (Narela) houses ensureroti (bread)?' Families with school-going children raised concerns over the lack of a Tamil-medium school in Narela, such as one near Barapullah. Some students said they barely understand Hindi, posing a major educational barrier. Aam Aadmi Party Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj said, 'On May 31, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta claimed that not a single jhuggi would be touched. But today, Madrasi Camp was razed, leaving thousands homeless.' BJP Delhi president Virendra Sachdeva responded, 'Our government has provided alternative flats. AAP must explain why it treated slum dwellers as vote banks and failed to rehabilitate them.' Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's Rajya Sabha member Tiruchi Siva said, 'These people survive on meagre incomes. Sending them far off isn't right, there should've been humanitarian consideration.'
The Hindu
16 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Tamil Nadu government offers help to residents of Madrasi Camp in New Delhi to return to the State
The Tamil Nadu government has decided to lend a hand to residents of Madrasi Camp in New Delhi, whose unauthorised houses on the bank of the Barapullah drain are to be demolished by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). An official release said the State government, as directed by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, would help the residents return to their native districts, if they chose to do so. They would be given comprehensive support, including assistance for livelihood, through the Collectors, it said. The Tamil Nadu House in New Delhi was tasked with reaching out to the residents. The government was coordinating with them to ensure that they got help without delay, it said. Madrasi Camp is an informal habitation along the bank of the Barapullah Jangpura drain, near Nizamuddin Railway Station in South Delhi. It has 370 slum dwelling units. The settlement is predominantly inhabited by persons of Tamil Nadu origin. The Delhi High Court had noted that Madrasi Camp was an 'unauthorized construction/encroachment' that had led to the obstruction and blockage of the Barapullah drain, 'causing significant waterlogging in the surrounding areas, especially during the monsoon'. It had directed that eligible residents be rehabilitated and relocated under the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board Act and the Delhi Slum & JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015. In compliance with this ruling, a comprehensive survey was done by a committee to assess the eligibility of the residents for rehabilitation and relocation. The Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board has determined that 215 out of the 370 residents are eligible for allotment of residential units under the economically weaker section category at Narela. On May 9 this year, all petitions filed by the residents were disposed of by the Delhi High Court, which ordered the commencement of demolition at Madrasi Camp from June 1. The Tamil Nadu government said, 'All legal avenues available to the residents of Madrasi Camp for retaining the unauthorised constructions at the site have been duly exhausted.'
Scroll.in
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Delhi HC rejects petition to halt demolition of Pakistani Hindu refugee camp in Majnu Ka Tila
The Delhi High Court has rejected a petition seeking to stop the Delhi Development Authority from demolishing a camp set up by Hindu refugees from Pakistan in the national capital's Majnu Ka Tila area along the Yamuna river till an alternative plot of land is allotted to the residents. Justice Dharmesh Sharma on Friday dismissed a petition by a person named Ravi Ranjan Singh seeking orders to the authority to allot the refugees a different plot as per the Delhi Slum and Jhuggi Jhopri Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy before demolishing their tenements. This policy aims to provide permanent in-situ housing to slum dwellers in Delhi. Singh, in his petition, also sought directions for embankments to be built along the Yamuna to protect the camp, which houses around 800 residents, and the other similar tenements and religious structures in the area, while also maintaining the sanctity of the river, Live Law reported. The petitioner noted that the Citizenship Amendment Act was framed with the idea of providing citizenship to non-Muslim refugees from neighbouring countries to help them escape religious persecution, The Hindu reported. The Act is aimed to provide a fast track to citizenship to refugees from six minority religious communities, except Muslims, from Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the condition that they have lived in India for six years and have entered the country by December 31, 2014. In Friday's order, the court said that Pakistani refugees cannot be rehabilitated under the Delhi Slum and Jhuggi Jhopri Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy 'on account of their foreign nationality status'. The judge told the petitioner as well as the other refugees to firstly acquire Indian citizenship by way of registration or naturalisation by submitting an application under the Citizenship Amendment Act. 'Needless to state, the effect of the acceptance of such an application would be that the aggrieved refugees shall be deemed citizens of India and would be able to enjoy all rights and benefits available to any ordinary citizen of India,' the order said. The judge, however, said that even Indian citizens could not claim alternate allotment as an 'absolute right', particularly in cases where the land they occupied fell under specially prohibited areas like Zone 'O' in Delhi, which refers to the floodplains along the Yamuna. 'At the cost of repetition, it is an admitted position that the camp set up by the refugees in question is situated in the Yamuna floodplains area,' the court said, further citing a 2015 order by the National Green Tribunal directing governmental agencies to repossess areas in the floodplains that were under unauthorised occupation and take steps to restore the ecological health of the Yamuna. 'Given the critical condition of the Yamuna River, this court unhesitatingly finds that no interference with the ongoing restoration and rejuvenation efforts of the river can be countenanced at the petitioner's instance,' Sharma said. He added that 'this stance holds irrespective of any humanitarian or sympathetic considerations advanced before the court' as it would obstruct and delay the implementation of public projects. The order added that the court had attempted to engage with the concerned authorities to facilitate the rehabilitation and relocation of the refugees. 'However, these efforts have been unfruitful, seemingly due to a classic case of bureaucratic buck-passing, particularly on the part of the respondent no. 2/Union of India,' it said. 'Nevertheless, this court cannot undertake the exercise of framing a policy to ameliorate the plight of the refugees.' The court vacated an interim order passed on March 13, 2024. This had granted Singh interim relief in the matter and issued directions to the Delhi Development Authority to refrain from taking any coercive action against him, Live Law reported.
