‘2 lakh people displaced due to CWG’

At least two lakh people were "forcibly" evicted from their dwellings in the Capital in the past six years for infrastructural development for the Commonwealth Games without any rehabilitation, a study by an NGO claimed today.

At least two lakh people were "forcibly" evicted from their dwellings in the Capital in the past six years for infrastructural development for the Commonwealth Games without any rehabilitation, a study by an NGO claimed today.

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According to the report titled "Planned Dispossession: Forced Evictions and the 2010 Commonwealth Games", evictions were carried out across 19 sites in Delhi for the event.

"Based on research, we found out that at least two lakh people in Delhi have been forcibly evicted as a result of CWG,” claimed the study prepared by Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) said.

Releasing the report, former Delhi High Court Chief Justice A P Shah said, “In total violation of all human rights recognised by the Supreme Court, these slum dwellers were removed," he said.

"Several poor people were without a prior notice forcefully evicted from their so-called slums, without being rehabilitated," said Millon Kothari, the Executive Director, HLRN.

The report named Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit and L-G Tejendra Khanna, among other government officials accountable for flouting the norms.