More demolitions in parts of south Delhi; drive aborted at Seelampur

South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) officials said they mostly removed roadside encroachments in Madhu Vihar colony near Dwarka Sector-3; Chaukhandi, near Janakpuri; Aya Nagar, Chhatarpur , Meharchand market, and Sai Temple near Lodhi Colony

Demolition drives against illegal encroachments were carried out across the city on Wednesday, with structures cleared in South Delhi’s Meharchand Market, Lodhi Colony, Ayanagar and Chhatarpur, although officials had to abort their attempt at northeast Delhi’s Seelampur, with the East Delhi municipal corporation saying it did not have adequate police backup.

A bulldozer at work during an anti-encroachment drive by SDMC, at Chaukhandi in New Delhi on Wednesday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) officials said they mostly removed roadside encroachments in Madhu Vihar colony near Dwarka Sector-3; Chaukhandi, near Janakpuri; Aya Nagar, Chhatarpur , Meharchand market, and Sai Temple near Lodhi Colony. They said unlike other areas, bulldozers were not deployed in Lodhi Colony where teams acted against roadside vends and small open-air carts near the Sai Baba temple complex.

At Seelampur, an area considered sensitive, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation heavy encroachments in the area were marked to be removed on Wednesday but the police reinforcements provided was not enough.

“Our team had reached the Seelampur police station for assistance. But, two-three policement would not have been enough. The corporation will try to carry out the drive again with proper police backup,” said EDMC mayor Shyam Sunder Aggarwal.

Seelampur is considered sensitive since it was one of the locations where communal clashes took place during the riots in February, 2020.

Aggarwal said the civic body removed encroachments on the stretch between Karkardooma and Rishabh Vihar, where he said, one bulldozer and eight trucks were deployed.

Encroachment removal drives, otherwise a routine function of the municipal corporations, have come under the scanner after the North MCD’s controversial demolition drive in Jahangirpuri on April 20, days after communal clashes were reported from the area. Opposition parties blamed the BJP, which rules the three municipal corporations, for allegedly targeting a particular community, an allegation the party and the civic bodies have denied.

Inadequate backup in Seelampur

The northeast Delhi locality has rampant encroachment, specially along the roadside leading to recurrent traffic jams, mayor Aggarwal said.

“I have already written to the Delhi Police commissioner to seek his co-operation in these drives, and have asked him to direct his to ensure that the encroachers do not return,” he added.

A senior police officer said the municipal corporation had sought permission for a “routine drive” and adequate force was provided for it, but when they reached the spot with earthmovers, they said they wanted to conduct a “heavy drive”.

“More force is required for a large scale drive since it is a sensitive area. Hence, they were stopped,” the officer said.

Roads in focus in South Delhi

SDMC teams removed street vendors near Sai Baba temple complex and cleared temporary structures near the Meharchand market. Some of the vendors claimed that their cases were pending in the court and they had papers to remove that they were not running their businesses illegally.

Neeraj Kumar, a street vendor said that several vendors already have ongoing cases in courts, and some others had removed their goods a day earlier. “We have papers to prove that we are not illegal vendors,” he added.

Ashok Sakhuja, who heads the Meharchand market association said that market was already clear of illegal vendors on Wednesday as everyone knew about the SDMC drive. “We file complaint against the encroachers with civic body every month but every time they conduct a drive, the information is leaked and they remove their goods,” he added.

Local AAP MLA Madan Lal (Kasturba Nagar constituency) visited the market and said that the drive was “the last attempt” by the BJP-ruled MCD to harass people before their term gets over this month.

Delhi Congress vice-president Abhishek Dutt also visited the area and said, “Bulldozer should be run on inflation an unemployment, not on houses and shops of poor people.”

Ramps, stairs removed in Madhu Vihar, Dwarka Sector-3

A team of MCD staff from the Najafgarh zone reached the 1.2km stretch starting from Aakash hospital to Madhu Vihar bus terminal on Wednesday morning with a bulldozer and 20 labourers. They removed illegal extensions made over the roadside drain such as ramps and staircases by several shopkeepers.

Local traders, however, called it a ‘selective action’.

Satish Vashishth, a trader, said similar structures were there on the adjoining road, but only their shops were targeted.

Monu Kumar, a furniture shop owner, said the “pick and choose policy” should stop. “Either all the outlets with extensions should be removed or nobody should be touched,” he added.

Action in Sabzi Mandi, Janakpuri

A large scale anti-encroachment drive was carried out in SDMC’s west zone with teams of civic officials removing temporary structures in Chaukhandi, Sabzi Mandi, Janakpuri and the area surrounding the Janakpuri district centre. “Police assistance from three police stations Janakpuri, Hari Nagar and Tilak Nagar was provided to us and 48 police personnel along with one inspector and SHO helped during the action,” an SDMC official supervising the drive said.

The teams removed items such as counter tops, carts, cylinders, benches and one vehicle. Some local traders alleged that they were not given legal notices.

Shveta Saini, west zone chairman, said some local residents protested in Janakpuri. “The anti-encroachment drive was conducted despite the protest. We have only removed illegal temporary structures and kiosks. It is our duty to remove encroachment, and we will continue our crackdown on violators,” she added. Civic teams also cleared structures in parts of Aya Nagar, Ghitorni and Chhatarpur

Tree uprooted in Okhla

Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan on Wednesday demanded an FIR be registered against the SDMC officials for allegedly uprooting a tree during the demolition drive in the New Friends Colony area on Tuesday. “I have filed a police complaint against the irresponsible MCD officials in NFC police station,” Khan tweeted on Tuesday.

In a statement, SDMC said that the tree was uprooted “unintentionally”, and that the civic body will undertake compensatory plantation, as per the rules.