PROTEST DEMONSTRATION AT DDA, VIKAS SADAN, INA - NEW DELHI

11 am ONWARDS 26.09.2013 i.e. Thursday

BAWANA SANGHARSH SAMITI 

Dear Friends,

We have shared with you before, the struggle of evictees for their right to shelter who have been living in shacks in Bawana Resettlement Colony and were evicted over 8 years ago from different parts of the city. The Vice Chairman of DDA and the previous Hon. Lt. Governor Shri Tejinder Khanna had passed important landmark orders in our case and had accepted that we were all eligible to be allotted plots for resettlement after we had been evicted and denied any resettlement. Inspite of these orders, the DDA is indugling in corrupt practices and is hand in hand with the land mafia in the city, denying us till now, our right to shelter and security.

We have had six meetings with the previous Lt. Governor, Shri Tejinder Khanna, and it has been recorded that we have legal documents. Further, in the meeting of 18 May 2013, the Hon LG even admitted that the surveys done by DDA were incorrect and that anyone have legal documents mentioned in the DDA policy, whose name has not been included in the survey , should be allotted plots of land as per resettlement policy. Still we have to hear the DDA officials taunting us and saying that even the president of our country wont be able to make this possible !

We have been harassed by DDA and its arbitrary policy implementation for over 8 years now and there seems to be little or no accountability for the decisions being taken which result in the delay of justice and the loss of livelihoods of hundreds of us waiting for the LG's orders to be implemented.

Further as a result of our struggle, a land scam was exposed and on 1 december 2013, the previous Hon. LG declared that while the CBI enquiry would continue, people affected by the land scam who came from Sawan Park should be allotted plots on the basis of affidavits signed by the evictees. Even as recently as 24 June 2013 the Hon LG. had made it clear in his orders that voter id's should be accepted as legal documents and there is no need for verification of voter ids since they are issued by the government. Ration cards must be accepted as well and there verification should not be prolonged. He also specified that all evicted families that filed applications under this case from sawan park, ashok vihar, yamuna pushta, paschim vihar, etc, i.e. 632 families, should be allotted plots they have been denied on the basis of the same rules and orders. The Principal Commissioner was appointed by the Hon. LG to ensure these orders were implemented. Yet, the DDA did not allot plots to us and many of us evictees have faced harsh living conditions and faced fires in our homes over the course of last 8 years. 

It is in this context we have planned for a peaceful and infinite protest demonstration on 26 September 2013 at DDA, Vikas Sadan, 11 am onwards. We hope journalist friends will extend their support by standing by us and expressing our concerns to fulfill our right to shelter and to live a life with dignity.

In Solidarity

Umesh Singh, Bawana Sangharsh Samiti

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