The Supreme Court will on Monday hear a petition filed by senior Congress leader Ajay Maken seeking rehabilitation of slum dwellers prior to the removal of 48,000 jhuggis alongside the railway tracks in Delhi.
The plea sought direction to the Ministry of Railways, Government of NCT of Delhi and DUSIB to rehabilitate the slum dwellers prior to eviction/demolition of their jhuggis.
In a plea filed through advocate Nitin Saluja, Maken has said that the well-recognised understanding of the real import of the rule of hearing is that justice must not only be done but must manifestly be seen to be done. The appearance of injustice is the denial of justice.
The residents of the jhuggis cannot be considered ‘Secondary Citizens’ and the removal of the jhuggis will render these residents homeless thereby violating their human rights as well as the Fundamental Rights as guaranteed under the Constitution of India, the plea added.
The petitioner claimed that the Railways admits that the said demolition drive will affect about 48,000 jhuggis. However, the actual number to be affected by the said demolition drive would be more than 1,00,000 and the move will render more than 5 lakh people in Delhi homeless and hapless.
The operation of the order dated 31 August will not only impact the lives of slum dwellers but also affect the general public in Delhi as there is a high chance of spread of Covid-19 when lakhs of slum dwellers will be forced to take refuge on the streets, the plea said.
The jhuggi dwellers do not possess any other alternative place to live in Delhi as neither do they own any land nor they can afford any rented accommodation in Delhi and that all of them had shifted to Delhi in order to earn their livelihood as there is no work opportunity in their respective native villages; the demolition of their jhuggies with no hope for any resettlement will leave them
without any shelter and livelihood, the plea said.
On 31 August, the Supreme Court had directed the removal of 48,000 jhuggis (shanties) along the railway tracks in Delhi. The SC had also said that the encroachments which are there in the safety zones should be removed within a period of three months with- out political or any other interferences.
The court had also barred any court for passing an order of stay against such removals. “No Court shall grant any stay with respect to removal of the encroachments in the area in question. In case any interim order is granted with respect to encroachments, which have been made along with railway tracks, that shall not be effective,” the SC said. The apex court has also directed all stakeholders to draw up a comprehensive plan for the removal of the slum dwellings for it to be executed in a phased manner.