SC asks DDA to halt demolitions in Vishwas Nagar for a week

The Supreme Court issued the direction on humanitarian grounds to enable residents, mostly slum dwellers, to evict on their own

The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to halt demolitions in Vishwas Nagar for a week on humanitarian grounds to enable residents, mostly slum dwellers, to evict on their own.

The court also agreed to consider rehabilitation. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The matter was mentioned before the Supreme Court’s vacation bench of justices Aniruddha Bose and Sanjay Karol before the demolition began at 8am on Monday.

“So far as the right of members of petitioners to reside at the dwelling place is concerned, we do not wish to interfere with the order passed by the Delhi high court,” said the bench. “On humanitarian considerations, we are inclined to grant them seven days to vacate the premises. In case they fail to vacate by May 29, it will be open to DDA, with the help of such agencies required to carry out demolitions, to resume the demolition activities.”

The court directed DDA’s lawyer Sunieta Ojha to immediately communicate the order to the officials on the ground.

Ojha told the top court that the high court on March 14 dismissed a petition of the residents and ordered demolition after considering all their claims. She said the same claims were now being revived after two months.

Residents of Vishwas Nagar’s Kasturba Nagar colony said they were seeking rehabilitation before being removed. They maintained they have valid identity documents and have been staying there for 40 years.

The court also agreed to consider rehabilitation. It issued notices to the DDA and the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, the agency responsible for the rehabilitation. The petitioners told the court that their colony has not been categorised as a registered slum due to which the authorities refused to consider their rehabilitation. The bench agreed to take up the case in the second week of July.

The DDA last week issued notices about the demolition from May 22 to 24 in line with the high court’s direction. The high court directed DDA to clear a 60 feet road after slum dwellers were found to have erected temporary houses and permanent structures on it virtually blocking traffic.