‘Three generations have lived here, authorities now say our home is illegal’

After living for over six decades in Faridabad’s Khori village, 64-year-old Jamila Devi finds it hard to believe that her home is an “illegal encroachment on forest land” that is to be demolished soon

After living for over six decades in Faridabad’s Khori village, 64-year-old Jamila Devi finds it hard to believe that her home is an “illegal encroachment on forest land” that is to be demolished soon.

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“My father started working in the mines here -- it was mostly stone and minerals -- in the 1960s after leaving our village in Rajasthan. When I came of age, I too started working in the mines as a labourer and we settled in Khori village as it was close to the mines. Since then, three generations of our family have lived here; we have no roots left in our village in Rajasthan. But now, the authorities are now saying the settlement is illegal,” said Devi, who worked in the mines in the 1980s.

On June 7, the Supreme Court ordered the eviction of thousands of residents of Kori village, as the settlement was encroaching on the Aravalli forest area in Faridabad district, and said there cannot be a compromise or concession on forest land. Since then, the residents have been demanding rehabilitation.

Devi said till the early 2000s, most Khori residents worked in the mines as labourers, drivers or stone crushers. “There was no concept of forest land or government land till the 1990s. It is only after 1992 that this area was taken over by the municipal body of Faridabad, but those who worked in the mines continued to live here.”

In 2002, the Supreme Court banned mining within five kilometres of Delhi and mass mining stopped in Khori. Following that, illegal developers started selling plots in the village to the urban poor, with the promise that they would have complete ownership ”soon”.

In 2009, the Supreme Court imposed a blanket ban on all mining of major and minor minerals in the eco sensitive Aravallis of Faridabad, Gurugram and Mewat, which, residents say, led to an unemployment crisis. However, many still chose to buy land at cheap rates in Khori village, using their savings, so that they could have a place to live.

“In 2010-11, one square yard was sold to us at ₹1,000, and I bought 50 square yards. At that time, the only concern was that I will be able to have a house of my own and not pay rent. Thinking on similar lines, many bought plots on the assurance that there would be no issues. We were not even given a receipt of the land sale, but we believed that the colony was set up with due permissions from officials,” said Santosh, a resident of Khori.

Ishita Chatterjee, a PhD scholar from the faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne, who has been studying Khori village said, “During the 1970s to 1990s, first, the quarry workers settled down here as they could not go back to their home states since they were stuck in a vicious cycle of debt to the contractors. Later, by the early 2000s, after mining was completely banned in this region, inhabitation picked up in this region, as people from different bastis in Delhi started purchasing land here. Along with this, people from nearby states also started moving to Khori, after selling all of their lands in their villages, which is why many of the residents do not have savings anymore.”

“Mostly, none of the residents knew that this was a settlement on government land when they purchased it. In 2012, after the officials from the tourism department visited the area and discovered the settlement, a demolition drive was conducted, and that is when the residents first realised that this was government land. An association of the residents under the name of Khori Goan Colony Kalyan Samiti approached the High Court of Chandigarh next, and a legal battle has been going on since then,” said Chatterjee.

Locals said despite the court case, the sale of plots continued in the village as word had spread that plots were available at cheap rates in the village. Given its proximity to the national capital, many who worked as drivers, carpenters and construction workers in Delhi also decided to settle down there.

Siyaram Pal, who works as a driver, said, “I bought land in Khori in 2011 at ₹2,000/square yard thinking that this area is close to Delhi, and it will be good for us, as children will have access to education and jobs. As these areas were mining pits, we first filled the land, levelled it and then constructed our house. This did not happen overnight, and if it was illegal, then authorities should have pointed it out then itself as we would not have invested our life savings.”

According to satellite images, the sale of plots continued till 2019, with Khalsa Colony being one of the latest settlements to come up on the higher terrain of Khori. Residents of Khalsa Colony, which came up in 2014, said they were not given any proof of purchase for their plots and alleged that they had to pay officials of various departments before starting construction.

Arun, a resident of Khalsa Colony in Khori village, whose house was already demolished in a drive in April, said, “We are already living in the ruins of a demolished house. What more will they demolish now? When we shifted here in 2016, we had to pay money at each step. When bricks and other construction materials would leave the factories, the truck drivers would immediately inform the local police and officials would come and take money from us before even one brick was placed. But now, none of these officials can be traced. They never share their contact numbers and we are unable to file a complaint.”

Senior officials, meanwhile, said if the residents file complaints, action will be taken without discrimination.

Speaking about allegations against police facilitating land mafia, Anshu Singla, the deputy commissioner of police (NIT), said, “At present, we are following the orders of the Supreme Court. If there are any specific complaints against anyone, then action will definitely be taken against them, irrespective of who they are, what they are and from where they are.”

Raj Kumar, the divisional forest officer for Faridabad, said, “I am not aware of what happened when the colony was being set up around eight to 10 years ago. We have not received any complaint against any forest staff so far.”

Over the past few weeks, the situation in Khori has remained tense, with first the district administration on June 14 prohibiting gathering of five or more persons “within a radius of 200 metres of village Khori”, fearing a possibility of unrest. On June 16, a 70-year-old man died by suicide, fearing that his house, which he recently constructed for ₹3 lakh, would be demolished.

Last Wednesday, the Faridabad police booked over 400 persons for violating prohibitory orders on gatherings in Khori village and pelting police personnel with stones, following a clash, as residents started congregating for a mahapanchayat.

Owing to the tense situation, the commissioner of Faridabad Police declined to comment on the allegations made by the residents.

Residents also said that if they were away from their houses for long, the land mafia would threaten to sell off their properties to others (as there was no documentation proof) and to avoid it, they paid a monthly fee of ₹300 to them.

“My sons go out for work and my husband, on his way to work, drops our daughters at his sister’s place in Malviya Nagar every morning. I guard the house throughout the day and in the evening, they all return. The situation is so hostile that we are fearful of approach the authorities. We fear that if we complain, it will hardly take any time for the land mafia to send people and hurt us,” said Sheila Devi, a resident.

Yashpal Yadav, the deputy commissioner of Faridabad district, could not be reached for comment despite repeated attempts.