Mehrauli demolitions: LG tells DDA to pause, examine papers

The direction from the LG, who is also chairman of DDA, came after a group of residents from the affected areas met him as part of a BJP delegation, and sought relief from the drive

Delhi’s lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena on Tuesday directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to stop the ongoing demolition drive in villages around the Mehrauli Archaeological Park till further instructions, officials in the LG office said.

People gather around a backhoe loader demolishing a residential building in Mehrauli on Tuesday. (Raj k Raj/HT Photo)

The direction from the LG, who is also the chairman of DDA, came after a group of residents from the affected areas met him as part of a Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) delegation, and sought relief from the drive which has affected thousands of people in the neighbourhood and left many more in suspense over the fate of their homes.

After the meeting, Saxena directed the vice-chairman of DDA and the local administration to halt the drive, assured residents that their grievances will be looked into, and told them that anomalies pointed out by them -- in the demarcation of land by the Delhi government’s revenue department in 2021, and that many of the affected residents have legal ownership documents -- will be ironed out.

The anti-encroachment drive has so far impacted 135 houses, according to police officers. Till Monday evening, officials had said they “reclaimed” 4,180.6 square metres of land from Ladha Sarai village and areas around it. It was not clear how many more houses were on the radar.

The demolition began last Friday, in the wake of a proposed G20 meeting at the park in South Delhi that has around 55 monuments under the protection of DDA, the state archaeological department, and the Archaeological Survey of India. Officials of Delhi’s land-owning agency have so far insisted that the action is in consonance with directions by the Delhi high court, which has, several times in the past few years, ordered that encroached land be cleared.

The BJP delegation to the LG included the party’s national vice president Baijayant Jay Panda, Delhi BJP working president Virendra Sachdeva, and south Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri.

Panda blamed mismanagement by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for the drive.

“The demolition was done due to the wrong demarcation done by the Delhi government revenue department. The affected home owners of Mehrauli, who were part of the meeting (with LG) shared their concerns about ongoing demolition drive. We are committed to helping people resolve their issues. The AAP back-stabbed the people of Mehrauli by wrongly demarcating homes which were officially registered for half a century. BJP stood with residents and supported them. A fresh demarcation will be done according to law, and there will be no injustice to anyone,” Panda said.

Since the drive began, the AAP has been vehemently opposing it, and has claimed that the BJP carried out the demolitions because it had lost the December 2022 Municipal Corporation of Delhi elections.

Revenue minister Kailash Gahlot, too, has termed the demarcation drive flawed, and ordered the district magistrate (south) to carry out fresh demarcation.

No comment was available on Tuesday from DM (south) Monica Priyadarshini. A revenue department official, however, said: “It is a quasi-judicial operation and the demarcation was done in December 2021. The appellate authority in this case is SDM Saket who has not received any appeal or objection from recorded owners (DDA) or any other stakeholders against the demarcation. Since the revenue assistant did not receive any appeal against the December 2021 demarcation, no case was instituted for re-demarcation of the land.”

Officials in the LG office said that, after hearing the grievances of the residents, Saxena assured them that no injustice will be done to any rightful owner of land. The LG said the residents’ complaints will be thoroughly examined and if any misdeed on part of any official was found, strict action will be taken against the erring officials. Saxena, however, reiterated that any illegal encroachment or unauthorised occupation surrounding the heritage monuments will be removed, in line the orders of the high court, the officials added.

In response to Panda’s charges, AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said in a tweet: “If BJP and LG saab is back-stabbed by AAP, what stops your LG saab to dismiss all officers of revenue (department) & DDA who were involved in this demolition. Challenge accepted ?”

In another tweet, he said: “What has happened today is the victory of AAP and people of Delhi. BJP had lately realised that their LG saab is making them unpopular every passing day.”

Earlier on Tuesday, DDA continued its demolition drive in Mehrauli’s Ward No 1, razing a two-storey house next to Gurdwara Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, and several other smaller houses in the area.

Last week, DDA officials brought down several multi-storey buildings and other houses in Mehrauli’s Ward No. 1, leading to protests from residents who claimed they were caught unawares, and were not given a chance to seek relief.

One resident, Neha Khan, for instance, said that her two storey-house adjacent to the gurdwara was demolished even as the family approached court seeking relief. “We have lived here for decades and have all the documents including the electricity bill. The land is registered. We approached the court today but despite our pleas, they went ahead and demolished our house. We have nowhere else to go now,” said Khan, while comforting her mother who cried inconsolably.

One of Khan’s neighbours also received a notice, but her building was not demolished on Tuesday. Shweta Rathi, 33, said that she was born and brought up in the house. “My parents lived in this house. I grew up here too. We have all the documents and the land registered. Suddenly, they woke up and realised that there is an issue. The government is offering a helping hand in Turkey to people whose houses were destroyed but our houses are being demolished houses here,” she said.