Delhi: MCD Demolishes 45 Shanties Amid Heavy Security, Residents Claim Not Given Enough Time To Vacate

MCD razed 45 shanties in south Delhi's Okhla Phase 2 on Friday amid heavy security. Residents alleged they were not given enough time to take out their belongings.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), as part of an anti-encroachment drive, demolished around 45 shanties in southeast Delhi's Okhla on Friday. A few residents alleged that the civic body had not given them sufficient time to take out their belongings. However, the MCD stated that vacation notices were issued on August 27.

The civic body said in a statement that the demolition drive was carried out in the JJ cluster in Okhla's Phase 2 under heavy security arrangements. "The encroachment removal action was carried out with the help of police force and approximately 45 jhuggis were removed from right of way of the service lane at Okhla Industrial Phase-II," an official told news agency PTI.

Resident Alleges 'We Did Not Get Time To Arrange An Alternate Place'

Despite MCD's assertion that notices were issued a few days ago, residents alleged that they had been living here for many years and were not given enough time to take out their belongings.

Dheeraj, a local resident, said: "They came here with their bulldozer at around 10 am. They did not give us time to take our belongings from our homes. Around 50 shanties were razed here. We have been living in the area for past many years."   

Anil Kumar, another local resident, said: "Several families were living here for last 40 years. We have nowhere to go. We did not get time to arrange an alternate place where we could shift our stuff. "

According to Delhi police, adequate security personnel were deployed at the spot to maintain law and order situation in the area during the demolition drive.

The MCD has been carrying out demolition drives in several parts of the capital to take action against illegal structures and encroachments, following court orders. The civic body on August 13 also began a demolition drive in north-west Delhi's Bhalswa Dairy colony amid heavy deployment of security personnel. 

However, the drive was stopped as a large crowd of protestors gathered, raising slogans against the MCD. Following this, the civic body submitted before the Delhi High Court that it would not launch the demolition exercise till August 16.

The MCD had identified 800 illegal structures in the Bhalswa Dairy colony area, where people had misued land alloted for dairy farming to instead build residential and commercial properties, PTI reported.