[Reader-list] Destitutes On Their Own Land: A Preliminary Report on Demolitions in Aya Nagar, near Arjangarh, Delhi on 11 September

[Asit Das]

*Two dead. Several injured. Hundreds left homeless. Many more to lose their
homes. Stand in Solidarity with the residents of Aya Nagar, Delhi!*


*Destitutes On Their Own Land: A Preliminary Report on Demolitions in Aya
Nagar, near Arjangarh, Delhi on 11 September*


The residents of Aya Nagar, Arjangarh were once more made destitute at the
whim of the administration – “mai-baap” – when the police and the CRPF came
yesterday 11 September, and *demolished over 250 homes in the area*, all of
a sudden without having given the residents any notice.


The people weren’t even allowed to remove their basic belongings before the
houses were razed to the ground. The brutality has left two dead and
several others injured. *An old woman came in the way of a crumbling wall
and succumbed to the serious injuries sustained. A pregnant woman suffered
serious shock and died as a consequence.* Several others have suffered
grievous hurt in the course of the demolition, and the police repression
attending the bulldozers. Others are still in shock, having seen all their
life’s hard work reduced to dust.


When the residents demanded to see the court order or notice for the
demolition, the police flatly refused to show any legal authority to back
the action. “The area has developed over more than a decade continuously in
the eye of the administration, with water supply, electricity bills, voter
ids and aadhar cards issued on these addresses. MLA candidates have
regularly been coming to the area asking for the people’s votes. However,
it is only now that it has struck them that the colony is illegal” says
Munni, a resident of the area for nearly a decade, now busy trying to
gather her few belongings from the debris.


The demolitions done on Thursday are however neither the first nor the last
of their tryst with the government’s bulldozers. These same houses had been
demolished in exactly the same way in June 2010. However, the police having
once done their bidding never returned until yesterday. People had since
rebuilt their houses brick by brick and had eventually started feeling
settled and secure in their homes given that the government showed no
further signs of claiming the land.


Most of the lands now being cleared have been “sold” to the residents by
property dealers under a variety of identities. The entire area has several
such property dealers who work closely with the lower rungs of the local
administration and mediate the people’s access to various public services
like provision of water etc. In this grey zone between legal rights and
fraud lies the only access to housing that a significant section of the
cities working population can afford. *The local land mafia and its
relation with the administration and the police sustain this twilight
existence and use it to extract a regular income from the people*, while
the local politicians keep it going to maintain a support base always in
need of their patronage and favor and often proving to be an important vote
bank.


There is information that the *demolitions will continue till 23rd
September* and the demolition of other rows will also follow. In fact the
demolitions are in keeping with a Delhi High Court judgement directing the
MCD to demolish unauthorised construction in various areas of south Delhi,
including Mehrauli, Neb Sarai, Chattarpur, etc. However, as is to be
expected, unauthorised farm houses and other construction belonging to
those who can buy their way through the adminstration and judicial orders
remain untouched and it is the poor who are first to come in the line of
fire. The demolitions in a section of Aya Nagar has alerted residents of
neighbouring blocks who have come out in strong support of those who have
already lost their hearths. Tonight shall be the second night when people
camp in the open or huddle in with their neighbors to spend the night.


They are in no mood to give up without a fight. *A protest demonstration
and road block at the Arjangarh metro station today in the morning saw the
police brutally latthicharge the demonstrators*. Tomorrow, 13 September 2014,
the people are resolute about making a fresh attempt to get their voices
heard, their rights recognized. The solidarity they receive from various
quarters of society in such circumstance shall be of utmost importance.



*We condemn the move of the DDA and demand immediate restoration of the
destroyed houses, and temporary shelter, drinking water, healthcare and
sanitation in the interim!*


*We also demand punishement for guilty officials who ordered demolition of
houses without any notice or proper mechanism!*

We appeal to all pro-people forces and individuals to come together in
protest and stand in solidarity with the people in Aya Nagar!


*-KNS (Krantikari Naujawan Sabha)*
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Preview attachment Prelim Report on slum demolitions in Aya Nagar.pdf
Prelim Report on slum demolitions in Aya Nagar.pdf
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