The court directed the DDA to proceed with the demolition process after three days and said that no further concession would be given to the petitioners or their families.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday ordered slum dwellers in areas affected by Yamuna floods to vacate their shanties within three days, failing which they would have to pay Rs 50 to the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board. 50 thousand rupees will have to be paid and the Delhi Development Authority can start the process of demolishing their jhuggis. The court was informed that a committee headed by the Lieutenant Governor has issued directions to clean the Yamuna river in view of the January 9 directions of the National Green Tribunal. After this the order of the court came.
Rejecting a petition by the residents of those areas, the court said, “Strict action by the police may be permitted. The concerned Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) of the area shall provide all necessary support during the said action.” The DDA told Justice Pratibha M. Singh that the NGT had re-examined the matter related to the Yamuna water being polluted, after which 27 In January, a high-level committee had directed immediate steps to control pollution of the river and remove encroachments from there.
'Residents come back to same place twice after removal of encroachment'
Advocate Prabhashay Kaur, appearing for the DDA, said that after removal of the encroachment, the residents came back to the same place twice. The judge took note of the submissions of the DDA's counsel and asked the counsel representing the residents, "You are encroaching on the Yamuna river. Do you know how much damage it is causing? The court was hearing a plea by residents of Moolchand Basti, located in the Yamuna floodplains in Bela Estate, who claimed that officials from the DDA and Delhi Police had come to them in August 2022 and found slums Was asked to vacate. According to the petition, the jhuggis were threatened with demolition if they were not vacated.
Start campaign to remove encroachment after three days
The court directed the DDA to proceed with the demolition process after three days and said that no further concession would be given to the petitioners or their families. The DDA's counsel told the court that the residents have also filed a contempt petition, but no contempt case is made out against the officials. The court also disposed of the contempt petition saying that no contempt case was made out. "You cannot use contempt proceedings to intimidate the officers," he said.