‘Wilful disobedience’: Delhi HC to authorities on failure to comply with orders on Madrasi Camp

The Delhi High Court has said that authorities in the capital are acting in “wilful disobedience” of its orders by failing to issue provisional housing allotment letters to Tamil-speaking migrant families displaced by the demolition of the Madrasi Camp in Jangpura, The Indian Express reported on Thursday.

In an order on September 26, the court said that further non-compliance would compel it to take action against the concerned officials.

The decades-old Madrasi Camp, built overlooking the Barapullah drain near Nizamuddin Railway Station, housed 370 tenements and was predominantly inhabited by families originally from Tamil Nadu.

It was demolished on June 1 by the Delhi Development Authority.

This came after the court directed authorities on May 9 to clear the area along the Barapullah drain. Describing the camp as an “unauthorised encroachment”, it had earlier said that the tenements were obstructing drainage and causing severe waterlogging in the surrounding areas during the monsoons.

The court had also directed that eligible residents be rehabilitated and relocated under provisions of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board Act and the Delhi Slum and Jhuggi Jhopri Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy.

Of the 370 families, the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board had determined that only 215 were eligible for housing. These families were allotted residential units in Narela, a northern suburb over 35 km from Jangpura.

The remaining 155 families had...

Read more