“What is crueller than a crime committed? The knowledge of its inevitability.”
Khori Jhuggi Basti Eviction.
This incident of cruelty has its roots in Khori Jhuggi Basti in Faridabad Haryana. A mammoth 700 household and innumerable lives are looming under the threat of forced eviction. Under these cold and insensitive statistics, warm and happy lives are buried. When we look at news clippings that enumerate people who have been evicted we fail as human beings if we don’t see the human story and the human life dismantled.
Was proper procedure followed?
The people of this basti were ‘fortunate’ to be informed about the eviction beforehand because most of the evicted populations are not. The Faridabad Municipal corporation which is the land owning and evicting authority apparently have a court order to evict this single storied cluster of habitation of its people. The incident reported is on 13th March, 2020. The evicting authorities cite the court order and encroachment as the reasons of eviction.
Did help arrive?
The AESC had received a complaint about the same. There is not much that can be done against a court sanctioned eviction. This 700 household basti has been there for 40 long years rearing old and young alike. Several other groups like Working People Charter and local community leaders have written to administration regarding postponing the evictions till Pandemic ends. People make ends meet with any job they can land.
Current situation:
What has proved a critical point for the whole world brought reprieve for this basti. The current pandemic has delayed the eviction and bought time for the inhabitants to find a place , to gather their belongings because ‘eviction is inevitable’