HC: Maintain status quo regarding demolition of slum near Yamuna

New Delhi : The Delhi High Court has directed the DDA to maintain status quo with regard to demolition of a slum on the banks of the Yamuna river and asked it to rehabilitate the people it had displaced as winter was coming and they had nowhere else to go.

The direction by Justice Rajiv Shakdher came on a plea moved by the residents of the slum, who alleged that the demolition commenced on October 9 without sending them a show-cause notice. The court said if the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) was unable to rehabilitate the displaced people within 10 days from October 14, then it should allow them to set up temporary camps in the area.

The judge said the direction was being issued in view of the fast-approaching winter and the fact that the slum dwellers had nowhere else to go. The court also issued notices to the Centre, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the national capital, the DDA, the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) and the police, seeking their stand on the petition.

The residents of the slum told the court that of the 2,000 dwelling units there, 500 were demolished and its inhabitants rendered homeless, without following due procedure. The DDA, represented by advocate Kush Sharma, told the court that the action was taken subsequent to the National Green Tribunal's (NGT) direction to clear the Yamuna floodplain as it was an eco-sensitive zone. The court said the matter needed further examination and listed it for hearing on January 28 next year.