Sabarmati Ashram redevelopment: Guj HC issue notices to state govt, civic body after slum dwellers oppose eviction

The Gujarat High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the state government and the Ahmedabad civic body on a petition filed by 55 residents of a slum cluster against their eviction by authorities to make space for the proposed Sabarmati Ashram redevelopment project.

Justice Biren Vaishnav issued notices to the state government, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and the disrict collector, and kept the matter for further hearing on December 8.

In their plea, the slum dwellers said they have resided in the settlement near Gandhi Ashram for almost 15-20 years, and were now being evicted by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation as part of the project to redevelop the area for tourists.

Appearing for the petitioners, advocate Anand Yagnik said the state government should not oust slum dwellers, who belong to the most downtrodden and repressed sections of the society, without giving them benefits under the Regulations for the Rehabilitation & Redevelopment of the Slums, 2010.

These people have occupied the area for over 15 years and are eligible for benefits under the legislation and should, therefore, be rehabilitated in accordance with the law, he said in his submission.

Yagnik said the authorities never cared to improve the living conditions of the slum dwellers despite repeated representations from them.

The Sabarmati Ashram redevelopment project, of the Gandhi Ashram Memorial and Precinct Development Project, proposes to expand Gandhi Ashram from the existing 3 acres to 55 acres for tourists.

The state government has offered packages in several lakh rupees to some 250 families residing in the Ashram area to get them to relocate. However, slum dwellers were not offered rehabilitation packages as authorities said they were not legal residents but occupiers.

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