Provide sanitation, water, power supply to families displaced by Laxmi Market demolition: HC

The Delhi High Court has directed the AAP government and its urban shelter improvement board, DUSIB, to ensure that the people displaced by the recent demolition at Laxmi Nagar Market area in east Delhi are provided proper sanitation facilities and uninterrupted power and water supply at the school where they have been shifted.

The Delhi High Court has directed the AAP government and its urban shelter improvement board, DUSIB, to ensure that the people displaced by the recent demolition at Laxmi Nagar Market area in east Delhi are provided proper sanitation facilities and uninterrupted power and water supply at the school where they have been shifted. The high court also directed the Delhi government and DUSIB, which was impleaded as a party in the matter, to ensure that requisite measures are taken to prevent spread of COVID-19 among the displaced persons and that provisions for their health are set up.

The directions were issued by Justice Najmi Waziri on a plea moved by some of the displaced residents of the market area who contended that post demolition they are now shelter less and their miseries have been compounded by the on-going monsoons.  They also placed before the court photographs which showed that the people were sitting under tarpaulins, amidst rubble of the demolition. After perusing the photographs, the high court directed the East Delhi Municipal Corporation, represented by its additional standing counsel Tushar Sannu, "to clear the entire rubble within 48 hours" and file photographs indicating compliance of the direction.

"All the photographs show extensive rubble still lying on the street and footpath. The purpose of demolition of the houses remains unserved i.e. to restore the public street to public use immediately," the high court said while issuing the direction to EDMC which had carried out the demolition drive from July 6 to July 8. The petitioners, most of whom had been living there with their families for decades, have also sought that they be provided alternate accommodation.

On this issue, the Delhi government said that eligibility of the petitioners for alternate accommodation was yet to be determined, but their applications in this regard will be considered. The high court said that "since the onus of providing such accommodation has fallen on the Delhi government, perhaps because over the years, officials of the PWD/road-owing-agency, were either not vigilant or had ignored the extensive encroachment, the GNCTD may consider appropriate measures for fixing responsibility, as a deterrence, etc."   The Delhi government also told the court that 50 families have been shifted to a nearby school and more would be moved there soon.

DUSIB, during the hearing, also assured the court that the toilets, in the school, shall be kept regularly cleaned with uninterrupted supply of water and electricity.  It said it will also ensure that there is no water-logging or stagnant water puddles which could encourage mosquito breeding and regular fumigation and other hygiene measures shall be carried out till the residents are in the said premise.  The bench in its order of Thursday also said that since the petitioners were living as individual families, their request for privacy of each family, to the extent possible, would also be considered by the Delhi government and DUSIB, especially in these pandemic times.  With these observations and directions, the court listed the matter for hearing on July 30..