While we all know about the Supreme Court order to remove 48000 houses along railway tracks in Delhi in three months, it is also important to note that several incidents of eviction had happened during the pandemic and its result have been devastating.
1) Heaven’s closed gates: Eviction in Kashmir.
The eviction took place in areas around Nigeen lake, Srinagar, J&K on March 1st, 2020. Around 7 families had to bear the brunt of this eviction. The Lakes and Waterways Development Authority which oversaw the eviction termed the establishment ‘illegal’. Seven structures including a house, 02 shops, tin shed, three tin-walls and a foot bridge were demolished by the team. With the current political turmoil and already precarious conditions due to covid, this eviction is almost a death knell for the inhabitants.
2) How a funeral took away their homes: Macheng Village Eviction
On April 24 2020, three houses were demolished after evicting the residents at the Macheng village near Langol reserved forest area in Manipur during nationwide lockdown. The area is a reserved area and 3 houses were constructed without permission, said the DFO of the area. The villagers had gone to attend a funeral but on return found the state forest department bulldozing their houses. Many tribal associations have condemned the incident.
3) When a Mahua tree became a home: The Kalahandi Eviction.
Demolitions amidst lockdown, in the Sagada village, left nearly 90 people of 32 tribal families shelter-lessm in Kalahandi district of Orissa. A landslide had devastated their homes earlier and forest officials did it the second time. The forest officials stated that the constructions were illegal but Lokshakti Abhiyan, an NGO, told us that nobody could have removed them under the Forest Rights Act. The incident happened on April 24, 2020 smack middle of the corona pandemic. According to the victims, they have nowhere to go in the nationwide lockdown and have taken shelter under the Mahua tree.
4) Eviction for rehabilitation: curious case from Bilaspur.
In a bizarre administrative action, rehabilitated victims of eviction were asked to vacate their quarters to accommodate eviction victims from some other area! The incident is of Bilaspur, Chattisgarh. The state administration on 9th June, 2020 evicted about 400 families living in government housing to accommodate those evicted from 160 houses for the ‘beautification’ of the Arpa River. Amidst the Corona pandemic the eviction victims have been living on the streets in what could be a catastrophe for their and their families’ lives.
5) What is worse than a pandemic? Losing your home in that pandemic: Badarpur Eviction.
Tents supported by poles were homes to 40 families of migrant labourers in Badarpur, south-east Delhi. But on Friday 28th August ,2020 they were razed to the ground by South Delhi Municipal Corporation. Around 100 people including children have been rendered homeless and jobless in this pandemic. There could not have been a worse time for this eviction. With no home to take shelter and no money because of joblessness people have been shoved into a life sucking abyss with their children.
6) “The Government turned our misery into its advantage”: Siddipet Eviction
On 19th April, 2020 when the entire country was battling a worldwide pandemic a different calamity fell upon the inhabitants of Kochaguttapali village , Siddipet, Telangana. A 30 household basti of farmers and labourers was disheveled and emptied of its residents by the state revenue officials. Reason given was that the village was under threat of being submerged by the Ananthagiri Reservoir Project.
Currently a legal battle that dates back three years is ongoing between the evicted victims and the state.
7) The Gurugram Crisis; Multiple evictions, for parks, for removing encroachments.
The city of Gurugram in the vicinity of National Capital Delhi witnessed three reported evictions in a span of a month to remove nearly 600 families. It began with the evictions of around 35 families of Gadia Lohar community in Mid July, then followed by removal of more than 500 families of Shyam Jha Colony behind Marble Market on Mehrauli-Gurugram Road in two days of eviction on July 21st and 24th 2020. The first eviction was done to clear encroachment while the later was done to develop a park. It is to be noted that there were similar incidents of removing houses in Gurugram just before COVID-19 and about 200 families were removed.
8) Making of the Beautiful Rewa; through removing houses
A 68 household settlement in Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, by the name of Ratahra was asked to find a new place, new address as these were demolished by Rewa Municipal Corporation on 9th May, 2020 amidst the corona pandemic when people were supposed to be confined to their homes , the poor labourers of this basti were rendered homeless. The land was not encroached by people, they were resettled here from Rani Talab in Rewa about 10 years ago. It is happening amid nationwide lockdown announced by the Prime Minister. In the time when police are using force to keep people at home, what does this eviction indicate?
9) The best time to widen a road? During Pandemic of course; The Delhi solution.
More than 100 houses of the Valmiki community were demolished in a three day eviction drive in July 2020 at Laxmi Market in East Delhi. These houses were demolished to clear an area to widen a 50 ft road on the basis of Delhi Master Plan 2021. The residents have earlier lost the case in the High Court too. The families as per law should have been rehabilitated before eviction, but the best way according to East Delhi Municipal Corporation, PWD and Delhi Development Authority is to demolish the houses and render everyone homeless when the COVID-19 cases in Delhi were on spike.
Some undone damages; Notices which are still looming large over families
“What is crueller than a crime committed? The knowledge of its inevitability”
11) The Amchang Forest notice of justifying environment over housing rights
About 30 families of Amchang Forest received an eviction notice on May 8th 2020 from Guwahati Wildlife Division to vacate their houses in 15 days due to an order of Gauhati High Court. The families who saw the eviction of some of their neighbours in Kankan Nagar are scared of this notice and have also warned of agitation. The eviction did not take place due to media and political opposition but it is the wait which scares families there the most.
12) The Inevitable Khori Gaon fear!
The fear came true for the families of Khori Gaon near Surajkund in Faridabad Haryana on 14th September 2020 when their long inevitable scary reality of eviction happened. They have been fighting this out for more than 10 years now with advocacy, agitations and court cases. Nothing came to their rescue as more than 1200 houses were demolished on 14th September 2020 by Faridabad Municipal Corporation. They had received an eviction notice in March 2020 just before the government announced a nationwide lockdown on March 24th. The eviction couldn’t happen due to media pressure but now nothing came to the rescue.