Rangpuri slum residents live in fear as they face prospects of eviction

New Delhi, May 1: Rangpuri slum residents, who face the prospect of being evicted from their homes due to a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order passed in January 2021 are living in fear and are demanding regularization of their slum clusters. Eviction notices were served to the slum residents in March informing them that demolition would start from April 25 onwards. The notice identified areas under Rangpuri Forest Division- Gulabo Camp, Sapera Camp, Nala Camp, Israil Camp, Shankar Camp and others as unauthorized and asked the residents to vacate within 14 days. The residents managed to get a stay on the order after approaching the Delhi High Court, though uncertainty still looms as the final judgment has not come yet. Prakash Kumar who heads the Sajag Society, an NGO working in the area for children’s education and women’s issues, says that the government should work for regularization of these colonies rather than demolishing them. “DUSIB website enlists 675 slums in its March 2019 list, Malikpur Kohi Rangpuri Pahari also features on it. So, we have been recognized as a residential area not a forest land and we ought to be regularized, not threatened with demolition. On the basis of this we went to the High Court which put a stay on the demolition.” He points out how no step was taken for rehabilitation of the residents despite the government policy “NGT decision was passed on January 2021, despite the passage of time no step was taken for rehabilitation of the residents which contradicts the Delhi Slum Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy 2015 which mandates rehabilitation of people who have valid documents.” Pradhan of Rangpuri Nala Mohan Singh said “the people have been living here for more than 50 years and it is grave injustice to drive them out we demand the regularization of these colonies.” Prominent social activist Indu Prakash Singh said that the government should work to ensure that the homeless have a place to stay and not augment the number of people who are homeless through their policies. Prasanna Mallick, another activist from the Sajag Society said that basic health amenities should be provided in the area “Rangpuri area houses about 50,000 people and we don’t even have a single Mohalla clinic here, I request the Delhi government to establish one here for catering to the health needs of the residents.” Environmentalist Diwan Singh has lent his voice against the proposed demolition “the poor have a very small carbon footprint compared to the affluent, who residing in their farmhouses and cottages consume huge amounts of resources. The poor live in harmony with nature, hence for saving the environment homes of the poor need not be bulldozed” he said. Chairperson of Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) Swati Maliwal, while participating at a May Day function held at Rangpuri today assured the residents that the Delhi government would not demolish their dwellings without rehabilitating the residents “Delhi government would not demolish even a single home and if demolishing is needed it would be done after rehabilitating the residents. I would convey the people’s grievances to the departments concerned and help in the resolution of these problems.” (UNI)