As deadline expires, residents refuse to leave Yamuna Bazar

Residents of Yamuna Bazar refuse to leave despite a DDMA eviction deadline, awaiting court relief, citing long-term residency and lack of alternatives.

Residents of the Yamuna Bazar area on Monday refused to leave their homes even as a deadline set by the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) for residents to vacate the area expired, saying they would wait for relief from the court.

Yamuna Bazar Ghat on Monday afternoon as two days remain before the eviction deadline. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

“We are not leaving until the court hears us. People here have lived in this area for generations and many families have nowhere else to go. We’ve not been informed of any demolition happening anytime soon. But even if the authorities turn up, people will not just leave,” said Gopal Jha, president of the Yamuna Bazar RWA.

The matter, residents said, was listed in the Delhi High Court for hearing on Tuesday. Till late on Monday evening, no family had shifted out of the area.

The settlement, located along the Yamuna floodplain near Kashmere Gate, has come into focus after the DDMA issued notices to residents to vacate the area over alleged encroachment on floodplain land.

“Everyone is anxious. But all families are still here. We are hoping the court grants a stay or directs the authorities to provide rehabilitation before any demolition,” said Abhinandan Sharma.

The DDMA notice directed occupants to vacate by May 18, failing which demolition action could be initiated. Officials have said the locality falls within the Yamuna floodplain in the O-Zone area, where construction and habitation are restricted.

On Saturday, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) issued a fresh public notices, which said that the land forms part of the Yamuna floodplain and is “an ecologically sensitive zone”, required to be “kept free from encroachment”. The notice said the area falls within “Revenue Estate Bela, comprising Ghat Nos. 2 to 32”, recorded as government land under DDA jurisdiction.

Referring to directions of the Delhi High Court and the National Green Tribunal relating to protection of the Yamuna floodplain, it further warned, “In case of non-compliance within the stipulated time, occupants will be liable for coercive action including removal/demolition of unauthorised structures.”

The DDMA’s earlier notice had cited recurring flooding in the area and invoked provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, stating that habitation in the floodplain posed risks to life and property. Officials have said the settlement is inundated during periods of high river discharge and forms part of an anti-encroachment exercise linked to floodplain management.

According to officials, the locality comprises around 32 ghats and houses nearly 1,500 people across roughly 310 structures. While the DDMA notice was issued to these 310 families, the DDA notice is for the entire area.

Residents, however, have maintained that many families have lived in the area for decades and are connected to occupations linked to the ghats, cremation grounds and riverfront activities.

The Yamuna floodplain settlements have periodically faced demolition and relocation drives over the past two decades, including large-scale clearances along the Yamuna Pushta area in the early 2000s, though no demolition has been conducted in the Yamuna Bazar areas since 2006.