The Delhi High Court has ordered a slum near Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official residence to be cleared. The order was issued Tuesday. The 700 families living in the slum have been told to vacate the site within six weeks.
According to a report in the Indian Express, a division bench comprising Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyay and Justice Tejas Karia issued the order Tuesday, and also formed a committee, led by former Delhi district judge Man Mohan Sharma, to oversee the rehabilitation process. The seven-member committee, comprising senior officials from various government authorities, will continuously monitor and oversee the rehabilitation of the slum residents. The committee’s term has been set at six months.
The court has directed the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board to ensure transport facilities to move residents’ household goods and other belongings to Savda Ghevra.
Opposing relocation to Savda Ghevra, slum residents said moving them roughly 45 kilometers from their current settlement would cost them their livelihoods. Most of them are currently engaged in various forms of labor in areas near the prime minister’s residence. They also alleged that Savda Ghevra lacks basic facilities, including schools.
The government said: “Given the current global security situation, the risk and threat of conflict or war-like situations has increased. Unauthorized structures in such a sensitive area pose a serious risk to national security, public safety and the protection of critical installations.”
Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma and Ashish Dixit, standing counsel for the center, representing the government, assured the court that each slum resident would be given a free metro card valid for one year, a benefit that could be extended up to a maximum of three years. In addition, one member of each family will be given free bus travel for one year.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report