Jangpura demolition drive in Delhi spurs fresh AAP-BJP tussle

The BJP, on its part, hit back and said that AAP MLAs were only trying to get “political mileage” out of the situation

A day after residents of a slum cluster protested against a demolition drive in the Nizamuddin area under the Jangpura constituency, MLAs from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) blamed the Land and Development Office (L&DO), which falls under the Union ministry for housing and urban affairs, for being “anti-poor” and trying to demolish the JJ cluster near Sunder Nursery.

During the demolition drive near Sunder Nursery in Nizamuddin on Wednesday. (Raj K Raj/ HT Photo)

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on its part, hit back and said that AAP MLAs were only trying to get “political mileage” out of the situation.

The L&DO notified units and started a demolition drive on Tuesday to remove encroachment near a JJ cluster along Mathura Road, behind Sunder Nursery and near Delhi Public School. However, the drive was stopped after a high court order stayed it till 10.30am on Wednesday. The drive resumed after that, and over 100 alleged illegal units were demolished.

AAP MLAs claimed that the drive continued despite the high court order, and earthmovers were deployed in the area on Tuesday. AAP MLA from Burari, Sanjeev Jha, said while the Delhi government was creating camps for homeless people and constructing Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) shelter houses, the BJP attempted to run bulldozers on Jangpura’s slums in the cold weather.

AAP Jangpura MLA Praveen Kumar said there are 675 clusters under DUSIB. Among these, cluster 223 is the DPS Sunder Nursery Mathura Road cluster, where DUSIB has registered around 216 slums.

The case dates back to 2019, when the two parties went to court. “Since this land belongs to the L&DO, the court had instructed it to stop encroachments without neglecting government policy on rehabilitation,” said Kumar.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Shikha Rai responded to the AAP and said, “The AAP MLAs are only trying to get political mileage here. They should tell the people how many jhuggi dwellers have been rehabilitated by them in the last nine years.”

Residents of the cluster said they need more time to relocate. “We don’t have a problem with the demolition but the officials need to give us some time so that we can shift our belongings. People should be given space in shelters till they can find another place to stay,” said Sanju (one name) a resident.

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has written to Aga Khan Trust which manages Sunder Nursery to keep it shut from November 21 to 23 given the expected disturbance to the public due to the demolition drive. The premises will be closed to the public on Thursday, officials said.