‘Will vote for party that offers permanent housing’

Anna Durai, 58, an immigrant from Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district, who has been living in the camp for the last 40 years and sells flowers for a living, says, “I have lived here all my life. My children got married and now, I have grandchildren also…I have heard we will get a house under ‘Jahan Jhuggi Wahan Makan’ (A house in place of a slum) but it is still a far dream…PM (Narendra Modi) is saying we will get pucca house… On the other hand, Arvind Kejriwal is saying that the Centre will demolish our homes. Who should we believe?”

He further adds, “Our vote will go to that party which will rehabilitate us to a better place…. Throwing us in areas along the border will leave us with no livelihood.”

Of the 400 families living in the slum cluster, 95% are immigrants from Tamil Nadu and the remaining are from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar according to rough estimates, Durai points out.

The camp first made headlines in September after the Public Works Department (PWD) issued an eviction notice to the residents, saying that the PWD land was encroached upon on Barapullah Nallah bridge.  As per officials, about 214 jhuggis are located on the right bank of the Barapullah drain, which is said to be blocking the drain flow into the Yamuna.  “Every year, during monsoon, the blocked drains  — due to encroachment — result in flooding in the city,” said a senior PWD official.

Following the intervention of the Delhi High Court, however, the demolition process was halted. The court directed the authorities concerned — DUSIB (Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board) and PWD — to rehabilitate the jhuggi dwellers if they are under the ambit of the DUSIB policy. “This jhuggi is situated on PWD land but the Jhuggi comes under DUSIB. So the court directed that the cost of relocation will have to be borne by the PWD and DUSIB was asked to verify the eligibility of the slum dwellers for rehabilitation before the next hearing,” said the PWD official.

The PWD has sanctioned over Rs 27 crore to the DUSIB for the relocation of 318 of 353 households of Madrasi Camp. “The amount has been sanctioned from the department on January 6. We are working to seek other approval for further process. The approvals will come in the next couple of days and payment to DUSIB will be made in the next 4-5 days,” said the PWD official. Meanwhile, sources in DUSIB said that the survey and eligibility verification process has been completed and the board is currently preparing the report to be submitted in the court. “As the matter is subjudice now, the DUSIB will submit its report in court. Any further action to relocation and demolition will be taken place as per the court directions. PWD is only responsible for demolition. The next hearing is January 27,” added the PWD official.

While documentation is in focus for verification of residents, Durai says, “About 1.5 months ago, officials came for a survey to check the eligibility of slum dwellers. About 150 households got approved and the remaining were told that they required identification proofs…”

“There are about 50-60 households trying to get the verification process done,” he adds.

Another resident, A Subramaniam, who works as a private housekeeping staff in Rashtrapati Bhawan says, “We were asked to leave our houses about three months ago but we all moved to court and demanded rehabilitation…We don’t have any problem in moving to other places as we also want to live in a respected colony and not be called jhuggi wala but they are offering us house very far in Narela.”

Saranya, who works as a domestic help, shares, “A large number of children here goes to Tamil schools in Lodhi Colony and Laxmi Bai Nagar. We will lose our jobs, the education of our children will be affected if we move there…” There are about 600 schoolgoing children in the camp. She also expresses concerns about women’s safety.

Subramaniam, a retired MCD staff member, adds, “We recently saw the PM giving houses to slum dwellers in New Ashok Nagar and Kalkaji…Our demand is also the same. We want a house in a centrally-located area with proper metro and road connectivity…I hope Modi ji will give us a house in a better place.”