With over 100 attorneys who came forward for NGOs and Ajay Maken from Congress calling against the removal of the slums, SG Tushar Mehta avoided a complex situation by assuring SC that no enforcement action will be taken for the eviction.
The illegal slums located along the train tracks are also dangerous for those who live there: the extremely marginalized sectors of society. But the act of removing them must be carried out in a humane way. Your rehabilitation should precede your removal, not follow it late.
‘Expect all stakeholders to reach a solution in 4 weeks’
To avoid a complex situation, SG Tushar Mehta assured the SC that the railways would not take coercive measures for the eviction of the inhabitants of the slums for four weeks.
Mehta said he hoped the stakeholders would come to a solution to this social problem at that time. A bench of the Chief Justice SA Bobde and justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian recorded the SG’s statement and postponed the hearing for four weeks.
Senior defender KV Vishwanathan said the Delhi government agreed that slum demolition could not be carried out without the rehabilitation provided for by law.
The Delhi government proposed the following: “Rehabilitation should be on-site as mentioned in the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) policy. Only when on-site rehabilitation is not possible, should other options be explored. In accordance with DUSIB policy, DUSIB is the nodal agency for the rehabilitation of jhuggis in the Delhi government and MCD lands. The Center / DDA is the nodal agency for the Jhuggis on central government land. However, any central department can entrust the rehabilitation work to DUSIB, if it so wishes ”.
The Delhi government proposed: “If the railways entrust the rehabilitation work of these jhuggis to DUSIB, DUSIB is willing to assume this responsibility with the following conditions: the railways will deposit the amount in DUSIB according to the law; DUSIB will identify any available land in the vicinity of each JJ group for on-site rehabilitation, develop a comprehensive plan, and present it to the Supreme Court within one month; The cooperation of all other agencies will be needed to transfer these lands for the construction of houses for rehabilitation. DUSIB will build houses within 15 months after owning the land; Whenever on-site rehabilitation is not possible for any reason, DUSIB will make available its own houses, which are in various stages of construction by paying the rates prescribed by the railways. DUSIB will finish the construction on a war footing ”.
Alternatively, the railroads may decide to carry out the rehabilitation on their own or through DDA, he said. Both Vishwanathan and Maken’s attorney, lead attorney AM Singhvi, told the court that the SC made a mistake in ordering the eviction / removal of the slum dwellers without even giving them a chance to present their arguments. Singhvi and Vishwanathan referred to the SC’s 1986 Olga Tellis judgment in which the authorities were forced to issue a warning to slum dwellers, who settle on the footpaths of large cities to be closer to their workplace, and said that not issuing a notice was a violation of his right to life.
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