The Delhi High Court authorized demolition of three unauthorized slum clusters near the prime minister’s official residence, citing security protocols and land-use rationalization.
Residents petitioned for rehabilitation plots, arguing decades of residency should trigger resettlement rights under urban policy.
Municipal corporations said encroachments block emergency access routes and violate master-plan zoning for high-security zones.
Housing activists condemned the order as disproportionate against low-income workers who service central Delhi households.
Officials pledged alternative shelter beds but could not guarantee permanent housing before bulldozers arrive.
The ruling intensifies debate over how India’s capital balances VIP security perimeters with informal settlement livelihoods.
Slum residents said generations of domestic workers and drivers built informal economies that sustain Lutyens’ Delhi households.
Municipal lawyers cited Supreme Court precedents allowing removal when encroachments threaten VIP movement corridors.
Activists plan to petition the National Human Rights Commission alleging inadequate notice before demolition crews mobilize.
Delhi urban planners said any slum clearance near VIP zones must include verifiable resettlement plans, citing prior court orders that banned summary eviction without alternative housing allotments.
Delhi shelter boards said they can offer interim housing to a limited number of affected slum families but lack permanent plots within the municipal master plan.
Officials said additional updates are expected as June 14 filings and statements are reviewed by reporters and verified against primary records.
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Sources:
https://www.thehindu.com/business/markets/stock-markets-surge-in-early-trade-as-crude-oil-drops-below-100-per-barrel/article71019876.ece