Delhi High Court Dismisses Plea Of Slum Dwellers Of Bela Estate Seeking Rehabilitation After Eviction From Yamuna Floodplains
The Delhi High Court has dismissed the plea preferred by the slum dwellers of the Bela Estate Mazdoor Basti Samiti who sought rehabilitation after eviction from Yamuna floodplains.
A Single Bench of Justice Gaurang Kanth asserted, “In the present case, it is not the case of the Petitioner that the JJ Clusters in Bela Estate are notified by DUSIB. Though, it has been averred in the Petition that the Bela Estate is in existence for more than 70 years but the Petitioner has not placed any documentary evidence in order to support this averment. Therefore, the Petitioner has neither proved the fact that the JJ clusters in Bela Estate were notified by DUSIB nor it has been proved that the jhuggis in these clusters were constructed before the date of 01.01.2015. Hence, they are not entitled for the relief of rehabilitation as per DUSIB Policy, 2015.”
The question before the Bench was whether the petitioners, who are admittedly jhuggi dwellers staying at the Yamuna Flood Plains, have any right under the law for rehabilitation.
Advocate Kawalpreet Kaur represented the petitioner while Advocate Parvinder Chauhan, ASG Sanjay Jain, ASC Anuj Aggarwal, and Justice Anju Gupta represented the respondents.
In this case, a writ petition was filed by the petitioner challenging the eviction notices issued by DDA to the residents of Bela Estate, New Delhi. The petitioners were also seeking a stay of eviction of residents from Bela Estate and it was further sought that if they are evicted then they may be provided an alternative accommodation for rehabilitation by DUSIB.
The High Court after hearing the contentions of the counsel said, “… it has been admitted by the Petitioner that DDA had conducted a survey during the period 2004 to 2006. As stated in the Affidavit dated 21.03.2023 filed by DDA, pursuant to the survey, the DDA had allotted a total of 6086 plots for alternate accommodation to the residents who were found eligible. Therefore, under these circumstances and keeping in view the law laid down in the judgments discussed above, this Court is of the considered view that the Petitioners are not entitled for rehabilitation as per DUSIB Policy, 2015.”
Accordingly, the Court dismissed the plea.
Cause Title- Bela Estate Mazdoor Basti Samiti v. Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board & Ors. (Neutral Citation: 2023:DHC:2178)
