New Delhi: Condemning the recent demolitions in Delhi without any rehabilitation plans, especially the uprooting of over 400 working-class families in the 60-year-old Madrasi Camp, Jangpura-B, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), Delhi, has called upon the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) government to immediately halt all evictions and demolitions until every resident’s appeal is fairly heard and resolved.
Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, the Delhi state CPI(M) said the poor families were evicted despite showing valid documents.
Reminding BJP of its promise of “Jahan Jhuggi, Wahaan Makaan”, the CPI(M) demanded rehabilitation in situ, or within a 5 km radius, to ensure continued access to livelihoods, education, essential services and community.
“Construction of flats on nearby vacant DDA land should be undertaken, if no appropriate housing is available, to comply with protocols and legal obligation,” it said in a statement.
The party also called for a fair and transparent survey and appeals process, “ensuring that long-term residents—many of whom have lived in the camp for over 60 years—are not wrongfully excluded.”
Read the full press release below:
*BJP GOVT MUST FULFIL THEIR PROMISE OF ‘JAHAN JHUGGI WAHAN MAKAAN’
CPI(M) Delhi State Committee strongly condemns the inhumane demolition and forced eviction threat facing over 400 working-class families in Madrasi Camp, Jangpura-B — one of Delhi’s oldest recognised bastis. This 60-year-old jhuggi cluster near the Barapulla Drain of South East Delhi is part of the DUSIB’s notified slums list and eligible for legal protection as per the NCT of Delhi Special Provisions Act, 2011.
Despite possessing valid documentation, one-third of households have been arbitrarily denied rehabilitation, while those deemed “eligible” are being cast out to Narela—50 km away—in clear violation of all protocols. Government agencies are simultaneously pushing for demolition of the jhuggi cluster even as the rehabilitation process remains ongoing, an action that is both illegal and indefensible.
The Act clearly states that “Jhuggi Jhopri Bastis which have come up before 01.01.2006 shall not be removed (as per National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second Act, 2011) without providing them alternate housing. Jhuggis which have come up in such Jhuggi Jhopri Bastis before 01.01.2015 shall not be demolished without providing alternate housing.”
The Para 2(a)(iii) of the Delhi Slum & Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy of 2015 underlines: “In-situ rehabilitation – Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board shall provide alternate accommodation to those living in Jhuggi Jhopri Bastis, either on the same land or in the vicinity within a radius of five kilometers. In case of exceptional circumstances, it can even go beyond five kilometers with prior approval of the Board.
Dispossession of the Poor in the Guise of Drain Cleaning
Upon the directions of the High Court (W.P. (C) 8035/2024) in July 2024, the DDA with other government departments, incorrectly identified Madrasi Camp as an encroachment along the drain flowing into Yamuna. Following this, the issue of eviction and rehabilitation is being considered in Court. The classification of the settlement as an encroachment is an executive decision—not a judicial directive. On October 5, 2024 the Irrigation and Flood Control Department hurriedly submitted a map indicating the Madrasi Camp obstructs the flow of the Barapullah drain. However, an independent fact-finding report by senior engineer experts from IIT Delhi and IIT Bombay has identified the nearby bridges and flyover as the primary cause of drainage obstruction, not the settlement.
Jumla of BJP’s Electoral Promises
A 2024 Housing and Land Rights Network report reveals that Delhi led India in evictions during 2022–23, with 78 clearance operations displacing roughly 278,796 people. This stark reality lays bare the hypocrisy of the previous LG-led administration and the current “triple engine sarkar” in Delhi, which campaigned on promises to protect slum dwellers. The BJP’s promises—most notably “Jahan Jhuggi, Wahaan Makaan”—now ring hollow as families face forced eviction without appropriate rehabilitation. Unless the Delhi and Central government immediately directs its agencies to halt demolitions and deliver on in situ rehabilitation, its flagship slogan will be remembered as a cruelpolitical gimmick.
Violation of Due Process & Rights
The residents of Madrasi Camp are citizens, not encroachers, as repeatedly claimed by the government and their lawyers. They vote, work, raise families, and contribute to society. Subjecting them to repeated humiliation—treating them as illegals—violates their constitutional rights. Even as the courts are deliberating on the case, the PWD and Delhi Police are issuing demolition notices in absolute disregard for protocols.
The Delhi Slum & JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy of 2015 underlines under clause D(5) DUSIB will fix the date of removal of the said JJ basti and send an appropriate intimation to the local police authorities for providing security and maintaining law and order. No police will be provided to any agency in Delhi for removal of JJ bastis without the approval/letter from CEO, DUSIB.
Proper Rehabilitation Must Precede Eviction
We strongly oppose any demolition, forced eviction or relocation to Narela, which lies nearly 50 km away from their current settlement. Such a move would severely disrupt their livelihoods, cut off access to essential services like schools and healthcare, and push families further into economic hardship.
CPI(M) Delhi Demands:
1. Immediate halt to all evictions and demolitions until every resident’s appeal is fairly heard and resolved.
2. Rehabilitation in-situ, or within a 5 km radius, per the ‘Jahan Jhuggi, Wahaan Makaan’ promise and government policies, to ensure continued access to livelihoods, education, essential services and community. Construction of flats on nearby vacant DDA land should be undertaken, if no appropriate housing is available, to comply with protocols and legal obligation.
3. Preservation of livelihoods and access to essential services by avoiding displacement to distant and disconnected areas like Narela.
4. A fair and transparent survey and appeals process, ensuring that long-term residents—many of whom have lived in the camp for over 60 years—are not wrongfully excluded. Initiation of direct social dialogue with residents, ensuring meaningful participation in the rehabilitation process.
5. An end to the scapegoating of working-class communities for flooding, when evidence points to flawed infrastructure as the actual cause. The government must also allow independent scientific studies to be conducted instead of blaming the poor for its failures to control and manage floods.
The bulldozer will not decide who belongs in Delhi.
The NGT’s 2019 order to clear unauthorised structures across the Yamuna floodplain or drains has been exploited by the BJP-led central government to displace working class bastis—treating longstanding communities as ‘encroachments’ and triggering largescale evictions without proper rehabilitation. Under the guise of “riverfront revitalization” and “beautification drives”, land is being cleared for 24×7 entertainment complexes and commercial developments that serve corporate interests, not public welfare.
CPI(M) condemns this grotesque inversion of environmentalism, where the rights of the working class are sacrificed to fuel real estate profits.
The CPI(M) is a working-class party dedicated to defending the rights of labourers, informal workers, and marginalised communities—whose toil sustains this city. In coalition with other Left parties and democratic organisations, we will mount a broad-based struggle against the DDA’s bulldozer politics and the BJP-led governments that treat human lives as expendable obstacles to their pro-corporate and anti-people development agenda. We stand in unbreakable solidarity with the residents of Madrasi Camp and the lakhs of marginalised families facing dispossession. The bulldozer will not decide who belongs in Delhi.
Anurag Saxena,
State Secretary, CPI(M) Delhi
Courtesy: Newsclick