Amidst the constant threat of eviction, demolition, and displacement faced by many residents of unauthorised colonies in Delhi, the promise of granting ownership rights to unauthorised colonies during both the state and national elections by the BJP seems to be far from reality. The flagship Pradhan Mantri – Unauthorized Colonies in Delhi Awas Yojana (PM-UDAY), which is implemented by the Centre-run Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and its empanelled agencies with the purpose of granting ownership rights to unauthorised colonies in Delhi, has been found to be moving at a snail’s pace in processing the applications for ownership rights, the DDA data reveals. Pertinently, the scheme was introduced in February 2020 following the passage of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Recognition of Property Rights of Residents in Unauthorised Colonies) Act, 2019, which was passed in the parliament in December 2019.

In a response to the parliamentary question asked by the BJP Lok Sabha MP from South Delhi, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, regarding the “number of people who applied for ownership rights to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in unauthorized colonies of Delhi under PM UDAY scheme” and “the number of people conferred with the ownership rights, colony wise?”, the Minister of State (MoS) for Housing and Urban Affairs, Tokhan Sahu, provided the DDA data which reveals that a total of 122,729 applications were received by DDA for ownership rights under PM-UDAY till July 16, 2024 out of which only 23,811 applicants were conferred ownership rights till the said date. This means that despite the buzz about Jahan Jhuggi Wahan Makan, only 1 in 5 applicants have been able to secure ownership rights, with a low success ratio of 1:5.

Furthermore, the scheme excludes “affluent unauthorized colonies” from the ambit of the scheme, thereby excluding 69 such “affluent” colonies. TOI has reported that the scheme has received “tepid” response among the residents owing to bureaucratic red tape and difficulty in meeting the eligibility criteria. Notably, out of around 40 lakh unauthorised residents, only a few lakh residents have applied for the scheme till date.

The parliamentary response may be read here:

Related:

Amidst Budget Session din, parliamentary responses reveal huge vacancies pending in the Central Government offices | SabrangIndia

The 17th Lok Sabha in review | SabrangIndia

Behind the BJP’s move to lift the 58-year-old ban on the participation of central government officials in RSS activities 

The post In Delhi, 122,729 applications sent to DDA for ownership rights under PM UDAY, only 23,811 conferred ownership rights: Lok Sabha appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The GMDA accompanied by approximately 700 police personnel had initiated the eviction drive in the Silsako Beel wetland area. It targeted the alleged encroachment on approximately 130 bighas of land. 

A house is a dream for many in one’s life. Dream lies shattered in Silsako, Guwahati.

@mygovassam @CMOfficeAssam @PMOIndia pic.twitter.com/PvyXkrSblj

— Bobbeeta Sharma (@bobbeeta_sharma) September 4, 2023

As fears of forcible eviction from their homes escalated, women from the affected areas in an act of defiance and desperation shed their clothes, exposing themselves, in a gut wrenching attempt to protect their hard-earned belongings and homes. Police quickly moved in to provide cover and subsequently even detained these women, along with other protesters.

Over the past three days prior to their eviction, there had been meetings with authorities regarding eviction which ultimately culminated in an agreement. The District Commissioner informed the affected individuals about the compensation they would receive. Chief Minister Sarma, speaking to reporters in Nagaon, had also stated that he will construct flats for those who were landless and evicted, “There was a discussion with the public for the last three days and the eviction was done after reaching an understanding. The district commissioner had informed the people about the compensation to be paid. We will build flats for the landless evicted people.”

Local residents have also stringently claimed they had owned the lands for decades and possessed valid land documents. They have stated that they had been consistently paying taxes to the authorities over the years and many have also claimed they were not given sufficient time to relocate their belongings, as the police pressed for a swift eviction. Furthermore, reports have also arose that the eviction process was selective in targeting. A relatively well-off property, which had a hotel constructed on it at the site was not demolished or called to face eviction.

It is worth mentioning that in the Bodo land Territorial Region an autonomous council within Assam governed by the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, eviction notices were issued selectively a month ago. These notices predominantly affected Muslim communities across various districts, impacting around 17,000 families. However, the Gauhati High Court later imposed a stay on these eviction notices and GMDA Chairman Narayan Deka promised proper compensation for those affected by the eviction. 

This is not there first time Silsako has faced eviction drives. In February, earlier this year a major eviction drive was taken out, according to India Today NE. The drive had led to the eviction of 300 people and also the demolition of two temples. Furthermore, in July 2023 too there was news of demolitions, there were huge protests in the area. However, in the case of Silako Beel many remained steadfast in their determination not to leave the area until justice is served for those previously evicted. Silsako has notably seen recurrent eviction drives over the years. According to NewsClick, these drives can be tracked back as far to 2008.

Why do people settle in these regions?

According to Outlook India, the Government of Assam’s Land Policy from 1989 and the 2019 Land Policy both highlight the primary causes of decreasing land in the state and these policies specifically point to flood and erosion as significant factors contributing to this issue. Furthermore, the 2019 Land Policy acknowledges the increasing lack of availability of agricultural land for cultivation.  It identifies multiple reasons behind this decline, including floods, soil erosion, and rapid urbanisation, industrialisation, and land degradation. However the crucial question remains largely unaddressed by the state’s political parties: why did people choose to settle in these vulnerable locations?

Similarly, according to an analysis by Sabrangindia, about 51 % of the total land of Assam consists of forest land, and about, 15 % is under water. This has left only about 35% of the total land open for either agricultural or for living. 

The lack of available land has compelled many displaced families to establish settlements near forested areas, grazing lands, embankments, the fringes of wetlands, or even on hillsides in Assam. This situation is a common occurrence in a flood and erosion-prone state like Assam. There is no official data available to quantify how many people have become landless due to natural disasters and how many have undergone rehabilitation efforts.

Furthermore with an abject increase in the construction of flyovers, toll gates, four-lane highways, and bridges in the state, the poor find no place to live. The rights of landless communities to secure land have not progressed in tandem with these developments, highlighting a significant disparity at all.

Related 

Vanishing villages depict struggle of erosion-affected families, impact migration: Assam

How hate spills onto physical targeted attacks on the streets: August 2023, India

What the 2026 delimitation process has in store for Indian Muslims

Love-Jihad now part of public policy in Assam

The post Assam eviction drive compels evicted women to take drastic steps appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Last year was marred by a spate of evictions carried out by several governments in small pockets across states. Even as the year 2022 came to a close, and in the first weeks of the New year, the administration in these states continued with their ‘bulldozer action’: MP, UP, Uttarakhand and Assam. In 2021, the brutal eviction drive in Assam’s Dhalpur district had drawn widespread international and national condemnation.

Citizens for Justice and Peace has been carrying out a regular campaign to defend every Indian’s right to housing while highlighting the present government’s overtly discriminatory policies.

Also read

Eye for an Eye new law of the land for Muslim minorities in India?

Rights Protect, Policy Evicts

Madhya Pradesh

With the Kumbh Mela set to take place in Ujjain in 2028, the Madhya Pradesh government has requested that locals, the number of which runs into hundreds, vacate the Gulmohar neighbourhood in Ujjain. On December 27, a majority of the Gulmohar and Gyarsi colonies’ residents, who are majorly Muslims, were asked to leave their homes, according to a public notice published by the Ujjain Municipal Corporation (UMC).

A report in the Muslim mirror states that locals have claimed that a resident named Salim Bhai Patangwale passed away, in shock and trauma, as soon as the UMC notice arrived in the neighbourhood on December 11, 2022. 

As alleged by the residents of the Gulmohar and Gyarsi Colonies, no land owned by the government was used to build their dwellings. Instead, the owners have stated that they were small farmers. These people tried farming in an effort to recover their investment, but when they remained unsuccessful, they sold their land in the form of small plots to the current residents of Gulmohar and Gyarsi colonies. 

Now, the administration wants to get rid of the residents from land that is not (technically) owned by them, to prepare for an event that is scheduled for five years later. It is not a coincidence that Madhya Pradesh is a BJP run state.Observing the latest pattern in practical use in BJP state governments, if a colony is a Muslim-dominated colony, the chances of them being served with eviction notices or tier houses being demolished with bulldozers is becoming increasingly high. 

It is also crucial to highlight that these above-mentioned notices were issued in the midst of forcible demolitions that were taking place in Haldwani after an Uttarakhand court ordered the demolition of the homes of more than 4,300 Gafoor Basti inhabitants. This action has been presently stayed by the Supreme Court of India.

India, new India is unfortunately now a country where Muslims are, of late the most persistent scapegoats, experiencing violence emanating from stigma and demonizing. The ‘blame game’ stretches from whipped up propaganda about spreading the coronavirus, marryingHindu women in order to forcibly convert them or buying land in Hindu majority areas to slowly take over India. These narratives then become the ruling regime’s propaganda tool to promote an embeddedsupremacism and nationalism. This is only one of many methods to break the will of those voices resisting the path to exclusion and majoritarianism. This is a particularly vicious one pioneered in Khargone (MP), Jahagirpuri (Delhi) and Allahabad (UP) now repeated with frightening regularity. This method attacks the hearth and homes of the people belonging to religious minorities, through eviction or using bulldozers illegally. Years 2022 on has seen multiple such attacks, a new form of targeted violence.

Uttarakhand: Haldwani eviction

On December 20, 2022, a decision was pronounced by the Uttarakhand High Court that allowed for the eviction of nearly 4,000 families from a land in Haldwani that the Railways had claimed as theirs. Not only this, the court had also allowed the government to use “such force as was deemed necessary” by then to make this eviction happen. This ruling of the High Court affected more than 50,000 people living in this 2.2 km long stretch, most of whom were Muslims.

The high court’s ruling was then contested in the nation’s top court. On January 5, 2023, the Supreme Court stayed the eviction order while noting that the case had a humanitarian component that needed to be taken into account. The Supreme Court had also mentioned that eviction needs to be accomplished following due process of law and after providing suitable rehabilitation to the ones getting evicted. As soon as the stay order of the Supreme Court came, the people of Haldwani rejoiced with happiness and relief. However, even as this decision saved them from being rendered homeless, the battle is far from over. Using the power of eviction has become the new method of oppressing the religious minorities and the marginalized sections in states run by the BJP government. 

It is also pertinent to note that this is not the first time that Supreme Court has come to the rescue of residents of Haldwani Ghafoor Basti. In January 2017, Supreme Court stayed the order of the Uttarakhand High Court ordering the eviction of encroachment of land near the Haldwani railway station. But back then the land area in dispute was 29 acres. But now Railway wants occupants from about 78 acres removed.

Attacks on this Muslim basti (settlement) have been increasing since the BJP came to power in the year 2016. The sad reality of today’s India is that this eviction order will neither be the last order to render a minority community illegal and homeless, nor will the Courts of India be able to save the citizens from eviction every time. While the pretext used by the BJP government in Haldwani, illegal encroachment of railway land, was different from that in Ujjain, land needed from Kumbh Mela, the result is the same- unlawful eviction of Muslims from a Muslim dominated area.

Assam: Lakhimpur eviction 

The Himanta Biswa Sarma-led BJP government is once again preparing to clear approximately 450 hectares of “encroached” forest land in Lakhimpur district, despite a controversy boiling over alleged “targeted” eviction efforts in Assam. The Sarma government has conducted three eviction drives in the past month in an effort to eliminate two villages, Adhasona and Mohaghuli, which are home to 500 Muslim households of Bengali ancestry.

The drive will be carried out in Lakhimpur’s Pabha Reserve Forest (RF) area, once known for its wild buffalo population, by the forest department along with the district administration and police. As reported by the Outlook, despite criticism from the opposition, Sarma had stated to the Assembly on December 21 that Assam’s eviction drives to clear government and forest lands.

Around 450 hectares of Pava Reserve Forest are being cleared as part of the discriminatory eviction that the state started on January 10. Some 200 hectares of the 201-family Mohghuli village were cleared on the first day by government workers. 299 households had to relocate on January 11. The authorities destroyed the evicted residents’ crops, and they were primarily Bengali-speaking Muslims who, as per Outlook, lamented that they could not retrieve all of their possessions. A section of locals had alleged that only Bengali Muslims have been “singled out” for the eviction. It had been reported that out of some 4,500 hectares, only 501 hectares of land has been earmarked for eviction, where a particular community of Bengali Muslims live in domination.

Not only has the BJP government been accused of selectively targeted the community of Bengali Muslims, they have also been accused of unnecessarily using excessive force and militarising the atmosphere. As provided by the media reports, even while most people are cooperating, to which they have no choice because they are scared, the BJP government insists on making a spectacle out of it by deploying a lot of security, and creating a tense atmosphere.

It is also crucial to highlight that this latest eviction drives follows two other eviction exercises that had been carried out in the state of Assam in the month of December amid protests from the Opposition parties. On December 19, in what was touted as one of the largest such drives against “encroachers” on government land, around 500 families were evicted from near the birthplace of Vaishnavite saint Srimanta Sankardeva in Nagaon’s Batadrava. Protesting the Nagaon drive, the Opposition MLAs had staged a walkout in the Assembly, demanding that the government ensure alternative land for rehabilitation of the evicted families, especially when it is the season of winters. Subsequently, another such drive was undertaken at the end of December, when around 40 families were evicted from Kanara Satra in Barpeta district.

Assam actually led this brute eviction drive politics when in September 2021, the violent firing on residents, simply silently resisting the sudden attack on their homes in Dhalpur district left several dead. This also involved targeting settlements of largely Muslims, settled here for decades, following river erosion that has seen internal migration of a high order in the state.

There is a troubling and pervasive culture of hate and impunity in India, which must be seen in the context of the BJP’s attempts to disenfranchise India’s Muslim community over time, such as the contentious National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the nationalist politics of the Assamese eviction drives.

Uttar Pradesh: Kushinagar

On December 24, 2022, in the Kushinagar district of Uttar Pradesh’s Nutan Hardo village, as many as 44 Muslim families have been asked to vacate their homes with the administration claiming that the houses have been built on “encroached land.” This continues a spate of demolitions launched by BJP-ruled governments all over India.

Two circles reported that the Uttar Pradesh government has sent eviction notices to 47 families of Nutan Hardo village, Padrauna tehsil of Kushinagar, out of which 44 are Muslims.  4 families have already been asked to vacate too. Meanwhile, locals have alleged that on December 25, the Lekhpal (revenue officer) came to their village and vandalised some houses and shops of the villagers even while serving the notice, a grossly illegal act. 

60-year-old Sayida Bano, from Nutan Hardo village, told the TwoCircles.net that her family has been living in the village for generations and yet they were served the eviction notice. When queried about why they have been served the eviction notice, Sayida said, that it is because they are Muslims that they have been served this eviction notice.

Uttar Pradesh, ruled by Yogi Government, run the state with the power of Bulldozer behind them. Almost an election symbol, there have been many instances of hate speech and persecution of Muslims in this state. More than eviction drives, Uttar Pradesh government has been involved in using bulldozers to destroy the homes of the people belonging to the minority community, or madrasas and mosques, by deeming them illegal overnight. On November 17, in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar, district authorities razed down a 300-year old mosque. As provided by the official involved in the razing, the 300-year-old mosque was demolished as it came in the way of 709 AD Panipat-Khatima highway. The said demolition was deemed as a required move for the motive of road widening.

Conclusion

Evictions have become a regular phenomenon in several BJP-run states. The state’s politicians, the state machinery and powerful media houses all appear to be on a mission to alienate, persecute and suppress the minority communities living in India. From terming the protesting people as ‘enemies of the state’, to using state sanctioned forces with the aim of suppressing the voice of the people, an environment of threat and violence has been created for the Muslims living here.

The evictions demonstrate a pattern of discrimination against Muslim families residing on public property or property that is later determined to be owned by a government agency.

After the eviction, people’s entitlement to democratic and human rights, rehabilitation, and resettlement is also overlooked. The narrow, communal, divisive and myopic approach adopted by the BJP led administration, to categorically exclude the religious communities, is a whip to the “secular” essence promoted by our Constitution. As this new year of 2023 begins, more and more such attacks and tactics will probably be used by the BJP government to further ostracize the Muslim community.

A detailed analysis of eviction drives and bulldozer action throughout the year 2022 may be read here.

Related:

Assam police firing: CJP aids families of victims move HC

EXCLUSIVE: Three infants from evicted families die in Assam

Images from Dhalpur: A photo feature showcasing the struggles of evicted families

Photo Feature: Evicted villagers struggle to rebuild lives in Dhalpur

Spate of Demolitions continue, 44 Muslim families asked to vacate homes: Kushinagar, UP

Bulldozer injustice: this will only stop when a police officer is sent to jail, says Patna HC

‘Stop Bulldozer Raj’ Slogan Echoes at Jantar Mantar

“Bulldozer Injustice”: Time for courts to actively step in

Repair, compensate, prosecute: Parveen Fatima in petition before Allahabad HC

BJP’s Bulldozer is Breaking the Law: Subhashini Ali former MP, Kanpur

SC stays Uttarakhand HC Order, residents can’t be evicted in seven days

The post Eviction, yet another weaponised tool of the state in New India appeared first on SabrangIndia.

In a rather timely intervention, which saved the homes of thousands in Haldwani, the Supreme Court deemed that the decision of the Uttarakhand High Court to direct eviction of more than 4000 families from Haldwani was not practical. The residents heaved a major sigh of relief and jubilantly celebrated the court’s order which frowned upon the inhuman directions given the high court and stressed upon the need for rehabilitation for the residents if the land needed to be vacated.

 The bench comprising Justice SK Kaul and Abhay Oka issued notice to the State of Uttarakhand and the Railways in a batch of Special Leave Petitions filed against the high Court’s judgment. The bench stayed the operation of the impugned judgment in the interim while observing that “there can’t be the uprooting of 50,00 people in 7 days”. The court while issuing notice has asked the State and Railways to come up with a practical solution by the next hearing scheduled on February 7.

The bench made oral remarks during the hearing while noting that the residents claim that they have been staying there for more than 50 years and rehabilitation has to be given. Justice Oka also pointed out that the high court passed its judgment without hearing the affected parties and said that one needs to find a solution since it is “a human issue”. He further pointed out that it may not be correct to direct paramilitary forces to be deployed to vacate the land.

On behalf of the many petitioners, Senior Advocates Prashant Bhushan, Colin Gonsalves, Siddharth Luthra and Salman Khurshid appeared. They submitted that some families have been in possession since before independence and many of them had government leases in their favour.

The court held in its order questioned whether the complete land is to vest in the Railways or the State Government is claiming a part of the land and also pointed out that there are issues of occupants claiming rights in the land as lessees/auction purchasers. The court also objected to the directions passed by the Uttarakhand High Court as “there cannot be uprooting of 50 thousand people overnight within seven days.”

“We do believe that a workable arrangement is necessary to segregate people who may have no rights in the land and those who have but to be removed but coupled with schemes of rehabilitation which may already exist while recognizing the need of the Railways,” the court said.

The court ordered a stay on the directions passed by the high court with complete restraint on any further occupation of land and/or construction whether by the existing occupants or by anyone else.

The Supreme Court order of January 5, 2023 may be read here:

History of the area

The township of Haldwani was created in 1834 by the East India Company and in 1896 the same was conveyed by deed to a businessman Dan Singh after which he started executing different sale deeds. In 1907 British officials entrusted the land to municipal bodies as nazul land while restricting its leasing or sale.

Uttarakhand High court judgement

On December 20, the bench of Justices RC Khulbe and Sharad Kumar Sharma ordered the eviction of residents of over 4,000 homes in Haldwani along the railway station while directing that the authorities may employ para military to use force upon the occupants if they refused to vacate the land in question.

The writ was filed for removing the unauthorised occupants from the railway land, adjoining Haldwani Railway Station, commonly called as Gaffur Basti.

The court observed that the local bodies had treated the land in question as nazul land (the type of Government land used for nonagricultural purposes such as building, road, market, playground or any other public purpose).

The court held that the document relied upon by local bodies, which is that the 1907 GO was not a GO in its true sense because it was an administrative communication, which was made in reference to the response to a letter of the Commissioner of Kumaon District. The court also observed that the same document created a restriction saying, “no sale of land, no perpetual lease will be allowed.”

The court thus concluded that it was not a Nazul land but was only directed to be managed as per Nazul rules. Further after 1939, the land ought to have been managed as per the United Provinces Tenancy Act, 1939

The court held thus,

33. Owing to the aforesaid reasons, the land lying in Haldwani Khas, even as a whole, cannot be treated as to be a nazul land for the reason being, that it is not even covered by the Office Memorandum of 17th May, 1907; and further that because its not even covered under the definition of “Nazul Land’ itself as provided under Rule 1 of the Nazul Rules due to exception clauses; and also in accordance to the notification of 1907, it only contemplated its management, but that itself was not actually conferring a right of treating the land as to be a nazul land.

The court held that the memorandum of 1907 does not confer any rights upon the occupants and since the memo itself restraints any execution of deed of sale or lease of the nazul property, all lease deeds would be in violation of the memo. Further the memo was held to be an official communication not having statutory force.

The court also observed that nazul land is treated as to be an escheat property, and being an escheat property, it would always vest with the State, over which, no proprietary right could at all under law be created because of the bar created by the Nazul Rules. Further nazul rules provide that if land adjoining a rail way station is to be sold or leased, prior sanction of Railway authorities is required which was not sought.

The contention of the intervenors that they were paying revenue with respect to the land, the court said that the same was for the purposes of discharging their tax liability to the local body and does not confer a title in context of the leases. Further, considering the lease deed, if the same were to be considered, the court said that the prescribed time limit had already expired and the right of enjoyment of the property has been extinguished since it was never renewed.

The court thus held that the the intervenors and occupants have no legal right over the land and thus directed the State authorities to “use the forces to any extent… to evict forthwith the unauthorised occupants after giving them a week’s time to vacate the premises” while stating that a week’s notice “would suffice of giving them advance notice of the probable action to be taken against them.”

The court directed railway authorities and district administration to use paramilitary forces if need be to vacate the land by giving a week’s notice to the occupants and if the occupants refuse to vacate then they can take “forceful possession” and then “demolish or remove the unauthorized structures”.

Further, the court also allowed the railway authority that if they are required to utilize force to demolish and take in possession the land, then the cost required to do so can be “recovered from them as an arrear of land revenue”.

The court also directed the police force to deploy personnel and for Arm3ed forces to surround the area and provide protection to police officials and railway staff engaged in demolition.

The court concluded with the following remark:

260. We hope and trust, that the directions given by us after a detailed analysis of the respective rights, would facilitate in ensuring the future railway development, and to curb the menace of the encroachment, on the land of the Railways, may be ultimately laid to rest and would be restrained to reoccur in future by the Railways Authorities.

While the high court, in its 176-page long judgement, extensively looked at the strictly technical legal aspects and the documents pertaining to the land etc, it turned a blind eye to not just the human aspect of the case and failed to bring under its purview the thousands of lives that stood to be affected by just one order of the court. It is a rather settled principle in property law (including tenanted properties in urban India) that “possession is nine-tenths of the law.” This really means that those living for decades in such properties have rights over it which are exercised. There is also the rather more complex issue of vast “government” lands and “common lands” over which settlements have been made. While the state and its multiple authorities were/are vying for the land and to evict these people, who claim to have been residents for over 50 years and some even before independence, the hopes of these people were pinned upon a court of law to apply settled and well-established principles that give a fair play to all sides. Several of these residents even have lease deeds in their favour to prove that they are legal claimants of the land, while that will be the subject of future decision of the Supreme Court, at least the court will direct proper rehabilitation of those displaced. The High court, not only overlooked the plight of these thousands of families, but instead directed use of force upon them by armed forces, if they refused to vacate and allowed forceful possession while also allowing recovering of the costs of using the force from the affected people as land revenue arrears! This decision reflected poorly upon the high court as a protector of people’s rights but thankfully, the Supreme Court in all wisdom came to the rescue at the appropriate time.

What is also rather strange is, that after the stay by the Supreme Court, even the ruling party under whose obvious directions evictions notices have been given, appears to be shying away from responsibility for the same.

The Uttarakhand High Court judgment may be read here:

Related:

SC stays Uttarakhand HC Order, residents can’t be evicted in seven days
Stop demolition of over 4,000 Muslim-owned homes in Uttarakhand: Indian Americans Muslim diaspora to SC 
“Bulldozer Injustice”: Time for courts to actively step in

The post “Find a practical solution”, says SC as it stayed order for eviction of 50,000 people appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Activists of the Coordination Committee of the Tribal Organizations of Assam (CCTOA) gheraoed (surrounded in protest) the Sonapur Circle Office in Guwahati on June 21, 2022 to demand eviction of encroachers and illegal industries from tribal belts and blocks, reported Sentinel Assam.

With support from local progressive groups, the CCTOA organised a massive demonstration and submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. In it, members further demanded a halt on eviction of tribal people. Instead, it called upon the government to issue land patta to the tribals and to include Mising, Rabha Hasong and Tiwa people under Schedule 6 of the constitution.

Further, they demanded a survey of tribal belts/blocks and tribal-inhabited areas, implementation of the Forest Rights Act, 2006. As per the memorandum, the Committee said the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 is a key piece of forest legislation passed in India on December 18, 2006. Yet the law is not implemented properly.

“We demand that the state government must adopt a bold decision in the State Cabinet for the settlement of land/ issuing land title to all tribal inhabitants in various forest and reserved forest areas of Assam as per the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 to redress historical injustice committed against tribal forest dwellers,” said the CCTOA.

They also called for the exclusion of such land, Tribal Sub-Plan (TSP) and Integrated Tribal Development Projects (ITDPs) area from the purview of the Assam State Capital Region Development Authority (ASCRDA). Regarding the latter, the CCTOA said doing so will jeopardize Chapter X of the Assam Land and Revenue (Regulation) Act, 1886.

Earlier, the Gauhati High Court directed Deputy Commissioners of districts having such land to take action against encroachers. The court further warned that imposing costs will be recovered from the salary of those officers, who delayed the process. Yet, the CCTOA stated that there has been no action by the concerned authority to remove such encroachment.

Members expressed concern regarding shrinking tribal areas and the resultant outcome of the de-scheduling of different areas particularly in Bijni tribal block and Dispur. Such moves can leave lakhs of aboriginal scheduled tribe people homeless and landless. CCTOA therefore, urged the government to take proactive steps to restore all the de-scheduled tribal belts and block across Assam with immediate effect. The protest was also attended by Takam Mising Porin Kebang (TMPK) General Secretary Tilak Doley, along with the TMPK Guwahati City Committee team.

Related:

Floods wreak havoc in Assam’s Barak valley
101 die in Assam floods, say ASDMA on Thursday
CJP Assam Team perseveres despite heavy rains, floods and landslides
CJP strengthens commitment to our fellow Indians in Assam in 2021
800 kms, 5 districts: CJP goes the extra mile to locate detention camp inmate’s family
Empowering Assam: CJP goes above and beyond the call of duty

The post Evict people encroaching upon tribal land: Assam’s CCTOA appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Decrying alleged police intimidation in the low-income neighbourhood of Dhobighat in Delhi, the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) on June 2, 2022 warned the South Delhi police against harassing residents.

According to a letter written to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), on May 31 several police personnel came to the neighbourhood, ransacked people’s houses and told residents to vacate them. The police claimed that these houses are to be demolished. However, AICCTU President Sucheta De termed this an imminent illegal demolition.

Residents of the area under the banner of Dhobighat Jhuggi Adhikar Manch petitioned to the Delhi High Court in 2020 regarding their right to live in the area. This was after their area was illegally demolished by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) without due notice.

In their plea, petitioners cited the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) rules that forbid slum demolition without first providing rehabilitation for all residents living there before 2015.

Accordingly, the court on September 9, 2021 gave an order that said, “Till the next date of hearing, no precipitate action shall be taken against the persons who claim protection of the aforesaid judgments.”

Still on Thursday, the AICCTU and residents of Dhobighat had to write to the DCP against such illegal actions by the Jamia Nagar Police station.

“We demand the DDA and Delhi Police stop illegal intimidation of the slum dwellers and abide by the Delhi High Court order. The AICCTU will resist any attempt of demolition of the Dhobighat slum. Biodiversity parks cannot be built over demolished slums of urban poor,” said De.

Further, she pointed out that around 70 percent of the national capital’s buildings are unauthorised. Most of the residents of such areas are the daily-wage workers of the city. She said that their houses are unauthorised because the government has made no housing for them.

“The living situation in these areas is a violation of basic human rights. There is no water, no plumbing. They are citizens of India. They have voter ids. You have to account for them as well,” she said.

Related:

JNU must withdraw order making the university out of bounds for Sucheta De: AICCTU

Evolution of Bulldozer Injustice

Delhi HC directs rehabilitation of slum dwellers whose homes were demolished

2021: The year of evictions

The post Residents of Delhi’s Dhobighat decry police attempts of illegal eviction appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On October 30, the Government of Meghalaya took over the land on which stands Punjabi Lane, a settlement of Dalit Sikhs. It did so by paying a sum of Rs 2 crore to Syiem of Hima Mylliem, the local chieftain, for the land spread over 12,000 sq meters.

Mylliems are 54 traditional administrative territories under the Khasi Hills Autonomous District. Each ylliem has a Syiem or Chief. Punjabi Lane, also known as Harijan Colony, is located in the Duh area of the state capital, just a stone’s throw from Bara Bazaar in Them lew Mawlong. The inhabitants are at least 300 families of Dalit Sikhs whose ancestors were brought to the state by the British to work as conservancy workers. Even today, many of them work in the Shillong Municipality.

As per official records, 184 employees and their families have been identified as legal settlers. This includes 128 are employees of the Shilling Municipal Board (SMB) and 56 of other departments in the government. These families are eligible for relocation to staff quarters. But what happens to the others? There are many families where descendants of conservancy workers moved out of their traditional area of work and set up small shops or entered the service industry. Why are they suddenly deemed “illegal settlers”?

With the state government is poised to evict Dalit Sikh families from Punjabi Lane, let us take a look at the events that led to this moment.

Dalit Sikhs in Meghalaya

The British originally brought Dalit Sikhs to the region. These include the Mazhabis, the Ramgarhias and Soniars, who engaged in a variety of activities and trades ranging from conservancy work to carpentry to metal work. The Sikhs claim that the land upon which their ancestors built this settlement was gifted to them by the then Syiem of Hima Mylliem. Interestingly, laws in Meghalaya ban non-tribals from owning property in scheduled areas.

This land dispute came to prominence over the last three decades, as socio-political organisations and a section of society grew opposed to prime commercial land being used for residential purposes. Some blamed it for traffic congestion, others pushed for it to be cleared to make way for a parking lot or a shopping complex.

But things came to a head when clashes broke out in May 2018. An altercation between some women from Punjabi Lane and a bus driver got out of hand and rumours circulating on social media sparked riots between local Khasis and Sikh residents in the area. The following month Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma ordered the setting up of a High Level Committee (HLC) to settle the land dispute. This HLC submitted its report in which it recommended that the residents of Punjabi Lane be relocated. But the Harijan Panchayat Committee (HPC) rejected this recommendation. HPC had at that time issued a statement saying, “We will fight tooth and nail” and that they had “rejected the report”.  

Shortly afterwards the HPC moved the Meghalaya High Court in the matter and in February 2019, the HC ruled that it was a “civil” matter and needed to be addressed in a civil court.

Fresh developments in the case

In April, 2021, the Meghalaya High Court had ordered that the state government and the HPC maintain status quo with respect to the Punjabi Lane land dispute. But on October 7 this year, the Meghalaya Cabinet decided to acquire the land and relocate the settlers. The Chief Minister explained, “The Committee also recommended shifting of the permanent municipal employees, who are currently residing in the Colony to the quarters that have been constructed. Further, we will request the other residents residing in the Colony to shift to the designated locations.”   

Subsequently a tripartite agreement was signed between the Department of Urban Affairs (DUA), the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) and the Syiem of Hima Mylliem. As far as relocation goes, 128 employees of the SMB and their families will be relocated to staff quarters built for the purpose. These quarters are located on Bishop Cotton Road, the original location of the SMB offices. As per the recommendations of the HLC, these offices were to be shifted to a temporary location at the old MBDA office.

This leaves families of 56 employees of other departments, though some of them have reportedly moved out of Punjabi Lane to different locations already. Those who haven’t will be accommodated in other designated locations identified by the DUA and the respective departments in the SMB. But this only accounts for 184 families and the neighbourhood is home to at least 300 families. What happens to the remaining 116 families? The Chief Minister’s response was rather cryptic, “Urban Affairs Dept. will explore other locations after which the Govt. will take a call.”

After the land was taken over by the government, Gurjit Singh, secretary of the HPC told Outlook, “We will give sleepless nights to the government!” The HPC plans to petition the governor as well as approach the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), National Commission for Minorities (NCM) and the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK).

He went on to say, “The tripartite agreement between the Government of Meghalaya, the Acting Syiem of Hima Mylliem and the Shillong Municipal Board is illegal, malafide and a clear violation of the constitutional and fundamental rights of the residents of Punjabi Lane, whose forefathers came here some 200 years ago and who have served Meghalaya honestly and diligently doing manual scavenging and other menial tasks.”

Related:

Meghalaya: Four arrested in Bara Bazar ethnic violence case
Turmoil in the North East: Ethnic divide widens in Meghalaya

The post Meghalaya: Eviction imminent for Dalit Sikh families? appeared first on SabrangIndia.

As the nation’s peasants, workers, and members of trade and students’ unions came together to hold a nationwide strike or Bharat Bandh protesting the various anti-people laws of the regime, they also expressed solidarity with families that were first forced out of their homes and then shot at by Assam Police last Thursday.

Farmers’ organisations participating in the Bharat Bandh in Assam, such as Asom Sramik Union, Jharkhandi Adibashi Sangram Parishad, Asom Khetiok Sanstha and many others as well as political parties led by the CPI (ML) Liberation, demanded justice for the evicted families, and action against errant officials.

It is noteworthy that on Saturday, a large number of organisations including Bangla Nagarik Mancha, Jatiya Bangla Sanmelan, Bangla Sanskritik Mancha, Ekusher Daak, Jay Bhim India Network, All India Students Association, Bandimukti Committee, Sara Bharat Pragatishil Mahila Samiti, Biplabi Yuba Association, All India People Forum, People Front of India, Sahamon, Bhasa o Chetana Samiti, Pashchimbanga Ganasanskriti Parisad, Friends of Democracy, and many other had held a huge protest outside Assam Bhavan in demanding the resignation of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and action against his brother Sushanta Biswa Sarma, who is also the Superintendent of Police of Darrang district where the shooting took place.

Forced to play on the backfoot, the state government then tried to change the conversation to peddle its own version of events. Nur Haque, who is the regional president of Sipajhar Anchalik wing of the All Assam Minorities Students Union (AAMSU) told SabrangIndia that two people – his brother Asmot Ali, who is the former president of Baznapathar Gaon Panchayat and Chand Mahmud, who is the President of the Sanuwa Gaon Panchayat – were called last night by the police on the pretext of holding a discussion about the Dhalpur incident. But as soon as they reached the police station, they were arrested by the police. The actions of the police follow from the Chief Minister’s allegations that influential “outsiders” had instigated the evicted families to attack the police personnel precising over the demolition of their huts.

Assam Chief Minister had famously claimed after the shooting, that “10,000 people had gathered and attacked the police personnel present on the spot with sharp weapons, forcing them to fire in self-defence.” However, a fact-finding investigation by members of CPI (ML) Liberation found that the evicted families were armed with nothing but sticks and were thus no match against the police’s fire power. Moreover, not TV news crew was on the spot to cover the demolitions, which is why there is no photographic or videographic proof of these “10,000 people”. Moreover, the few videos shot by people present on the spot only corroborate the findings of the CPI (ML) Liberation team.

The only non-traumatic outcome of the September 23 tragedy has been that evictions have come to a grinding halt in the region. No one has been thrown out of their homes, not have any huts been demolished in Dhalpur in the last four days. However, those who are already displaced are forced to find shelter under makeshift tents and tin sheds, amidst the heavy monsoon rain in a flood-prone riverine region of Assam, not to mention the raging Covid-19 pandemic.

Related:

Assam Police Firing: 12-year-old shot dead while returning home from Aadhaar centre!
Crowd control by Police: How much force is too much force?
Assam Police Firing: Who are “encroachers” and who are “indigenous”?
Assam Police Firing: People across India demand justice for evicted families
Assam Police Firing: Support for victims grows
Assam Police Firing: Death toll rises, victim blaming rampant
Police firing in Assam: Illegal and unforgivable
BREAKING: 2 killed, 10 injured in police firing in Assam

The post Assam Police Firing: Fourth consecutive day without evictions in Dhalpur appeared first on SabrangIndia.

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairperson Justice (retired) Arun Mishra has said that no Adivasi/tribal should be evicted without the settlement of his/her claim related to land rights, while chairing a webinar organised by the Commission with Human Rights Defenders and Civil Societies on human rights issues.

Another suggestion that he gave during the webinar held on July 29, was that the rehabilitation of displaced people due to development projects should be fully drawn out before the implementation of the project which should not merely include financial support.

It is noteworthy, that the same judge had delivered the controversial order (W.P Civ. 109 of 2008) on February 13, 2019, ordering for the eviction of over 11 lakh tribals and forest dwelling communities across several all states. The Bench which also consisted of Justices Navin Sinha and Indira Banerjee of the Supreme Court, had asked the authorities of 21 states to give affidavits explaining why evictions, wherever ordered, had not taken place.

The apex court had also asked some states to pass orders for eviction wherever the rejection of claims under the Forest Rights Act had taken place. The strongly worded order read, “In case the eviction is not carried out, as aforesaid, the matter would be viewed seriously by this Court.” The court had directed that the evictions must be carried out by July, and also directed the Dehradun-based Forest Survey of India (FSI) to submit a satellite image-based report once the “encroachments” are removed.

But this order was stayed on February 28, 2019, after huge condemnation by Adivasi and forest dwellers’ movements, and forest rights activists. In its order, Justice Arun Mishra said, “At the present juncture there is likelihood of traditional Tribals being affected whose claims have been rejected. At the same time the question which is also of significance and which cannot be ignored and overlooked is that in the guise of and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFDs), the land is not in occupied by mighty people, industrialists and other persons who are not belonging to the aforesaid category. Let the State Governments also point out the category wise details of such incumbents who have been occupying these areas belonging to Scheduled Tribe category and OTFD category and such persons who cannot be treated as Tribals….However, till we examine all aforesaid aspects, we keep our order dated 13.02.2019 on hold so far as eviction is concerned.”

Even though the Bench stayed the exercise of the order, the fate of lakhs of tribals and forest dwelling communities remains uncertain due to such pronouncements.

CJP’s role

In August 2019, in response to the Supreme Court’s eviction order and subsequent stay, Adivasi human rights defenders Sokalo Gond and Nivada Rana had intervened in the same matter, backed by Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) along with All India Union of Forest Working People (AIUFWP). The intervention plea explained how the law is in statutory line with Schedules V (administration and control of Scheduled Areas), VI (administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram), and IX (contains a list of central and state laws which cannot be challenged in courts) of the Constitution. 

Justice Arun Mishra’s order had triggered around 19 intervention applications, including this one that was successfully admitted by the Supreme Court in September, 2019. The two organisations have been actively campaigning for forest rights and Adivasis, who are subject to government apathy. Recently, CJP along with AIUFWP and Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan (JADS), organised an online press conference providing a platform to the Adivasi villagers of Madhya Pradesh’s Negaon-Jamniya village, who have had their houses destroyed and property looted by a mob. They were illegally evicted and had their homes demolished by a mob of people from neighbouring villages who appeared to operate with the blessings of the Forest Department and police officials present on the spot.

Even though Justice (retired) Mishra has now opined that traditional forest dwellers and Adivasis must not be evicted without settlement of their claims, and added emphasis on the need of more foundational rehabilitation plans, his ideas certainly do not align with his previous orders as a serving judge of the Supreme Court.

On August 31, 2020, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court, also headed by him, had ordered the removal of nearly 48,000 slum dwellings around the 140-km of railway tracks in Delhi within three months with no “interference”, political or otherwise. (MC Mehta vs Union of India 1985).

This was in direct contravention of the landmark judgment in Olga Tellis v. Bombay Municipal Corporation (1985) that held that the right to shelter and livelihood is a facet of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The judgment in Olga Tellis was delivered by a five-judge bench, which the three-judge should have ought to follow but did not. In addition to this, the order did not provide details of alternative rehabilitation, etc and was passed in the middle of a pandemic against the most disadvantaged.

Related:

Breaking: All Intervention Applications defending FRA, 2006 admitted by SC
Sokalo Gond and Nivada Rana lead the campaign for Forest Rights in SC
Gov’t doesn’t really care about us: Forcibly evicted Khandwa Adivasis
NHRC chairmanship contender Justice Arun Mishra’s legacy

The post No eviction of tribals without settlement of land claims: J. Arun Mishra (retd.) appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Over 200 Adivasis in Negaon-Jamniya region of Madhya Pradesh lost their houses, rations, fields and material belongings on July 10, 2021 during an illegal eviction. A mob looted, assaulted and illegally contained the indigenous families. Enraged, the Adivasis are now demanding justice for this gross violation of their rights. The following is a photo feature depicting the grave injustice. All images courtesy Jagrit Adivasi Dalit Sangathan (JADS).

On Saturday, 40 families of Bhil and Barela tribes tried to protect their homes and belongings from a mob of nearby villagers, who attacked them, allegedly with the blessings of police and forest officials.

Villagers had until then lived under the bitter-sweet assurance that a court order protected them from eviction until July 15.

More than anything, families knew their rights to the land under the Forest Rights Act 2006.

After July 10, villagers have vehemently demanded compensation from the government for allowing a gross violation of their constitutional rights.

These days, the community still lives amid the ruins of their homes. The fields in the background were sprayed with poisonous chemicals.

JADS demanded an explanation as to why government officials were even accompanied by a frenzied mob that laid waste to land.

What is left in the small hamlet now are battered and bent remains of homes destroyed in the attack.

JADS estimated that in terms of livestock, over 300 chickens, 16 goats and one calf were killed in the mob attack.

Further, families mourned a loot of 130 quintals of food grains, Rs. 63,800 in cash, a shop worth Rs 80,000, Rs.12,000 worth of jewellery.

Devastated by the incident, the community is only left with the clothes on their back and a week-long pending demand for justice against this destruction.

The post MP Adivasis piece their lives together following forced eviction appeared first on SabrangIndia.