Black Day protest in Khori to mark a year since demolition

The colony, which had come up illegally on 150 acres of Aravalli forest land, was razed by the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) on the orders of the Supreme Court passed on June 7 last year

Residents of Faridabad’s Khori Village, which was demolished for being an encroachment on the protected Aravalli forests, took out a silent march on Tuesday to mark a year since they lost their homes to bulldozers. Over 200 villagers participated in the march holding black flags, and demanded alternative spaces for living.

According to a drone survey carried out by the Faridabad civic body, at least 6,600 houses were built illegally in Khori. (Parveen Kumar/HT PHOTO)

The colony, which had come up illegally on 150 acres of Aravalli forest land, was razed by the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF) on the orders of the Supreme Court passed on June 7 last year.

According to a drone survey carried out by the civic body, at least 6,600 houses were built illegally in Khori. The residents were later offered flats made for the economically weaker section (EWS) in Dabua Colony and Bapu Colony in Faridabad. Most of these flats, constructed for slum dwellers, have been lying unused for over 10 years, officials from the MCF said, adding there are 1,776 flats in Dabua Colony and 779 in Bapu Colony, MCF officials said.

Villagers said about 200 families have been living in the two colonies for several years now, but most of the other flats lack facilities. Some people have even moved into unoccupied flats and are living without even the basic amenities, they said.

Officials said after the villagers refused to take possession of flats, citing their condition, they got them repaired

Villagers said they are living in houses they took on rent for ₹4,000-6,000 a month. “The MCF is asking us to pay ₹17,000 as a down payment and a further ₹2,500 per month for the next 15 years for the flats under rehabilitation. How do we pay that when our children have stopped going to school as we have no money left,” said Manjur Alam, a tailor.

Vimal Bhai, a social activist who has been helping Khori residents to complete their documentation process for allotment of flats, said, “The government first made the people of Khori poor by razing the homes that they built on land bought using their lifetime earnings. Then, they forced them to leave without giving them proper homes to move in. Now, the villagers have no place to go and no money left to build or buy another house,” he said.

Neelesh Kumar (30), another social activist and member of Basti Suraksha Manch, who works for housing rights, said the homeless are demanding reallocation and an alternative plan so that they get a space to live. “People had built double and three-storey houses in Khori. Why did they let the constructions come up in the first place if the village was an encroachment? Once they had spent all their savings on houses, they were evicted,” he said.

Ashok Kumar, another resident who was evicted, said they will observe a Black Week from June 7 to July 14. “We will hold different programmes during this period and will engage in democratic, non-violent satyagraha. We will raise our voice to remind the world that injustice has been done to us as we are poor. We have appealed to people to put up posts on social media to drum up support,” he said.

Yashpal Yadav, commissioner, MCF, said the civic body followed all the directions of the Supreme Court and houses were repaired and possession given to the residents. “We also paid ₹14,000 to each resident who had given us their account details and submitted the documents, towards rent calculated at the rate of ₹2,000 per month. The department has extended all possible help for their rehabilitation,” he said.

Each resident from Khori, under the prescribed criteria, will be given a flat worth ₹3,77,300. Initially, ₹17,000 has to be deposited for the allotment and after that, an amount of ₹2,500 will have to be paid every month for 15 years, MCF officials said.