Delhi HC Appoints Local Commissioner As Slum Dwellers Fear Homelessness

The Delhi High Court has appointed a local commissioner to visit those residents of Rajeev Camp at Mandawali in east Delhi who feared forcible eviction by the Delhi government for expansion of NH 24.

A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal appointed a local commissioner to scutinize the claim of the slum dwellers who alleged that they were wrongly declared ineligible for rehabilitation after a survey conducted by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board.

Eleven such families had come to the high court after they were served notice of eviction for expansion of NH 24.

The bench had earlier Mittal directed the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board ( DUSIB) to maintain status quo with regard to the slum dwellers who have been served notices on January 13.

The slum dwellers, represented by i-Probono’s Robin David, claimed DUSIB wrongly held them ineligible and have not worked for their rehabilitation.

They also contended that after the survey, their hutments were razed to the ground on February 9 forcing them to stay in tents and tins.