[Commons-Law] Nangla: Supreme Court stays demolitions

[Aniruddha Shankar]

On the 5th of April the High Court had ordered that the undemolished  
houses in Nanglamachi be "removed" without waiting for resettlement  
of the affected persons.

During the last month the teachers and staff of the Ankur Society for  
Alternatives in Education and Cybermohalla practitioners have been  
working tirelessly to prevent the destruction of the homes that  
remain in Nangla. They have been collecting and verifying  
documentation, conducting interviews and have produced a substantial  
narrative that testifies to the fact that NanglaMachi has been  
settled for 25 years, and that the inhabitants of Nanglamachi came to  
Delhi to look for work. Apart from government documentation such as  
decades old Ration Cards, Below Poverty Line Certificates and Voter  
ID cards, a clear picture also emerges that Nangla was literally  
created by these people on top of a toxic fly ash swamp on the banks  
of the Yamuna decades ago.

This narrative has been critical in the framing of a writ petition  
before the Supreme Court which, after laying out the background and  
context of the inhabitants of Nangla seeks to stop the impending  
demolitions.

The petition draws on established law flowing from the Constitution,  
the decisions of the Supreme Court, international laws and covenants,  
natural justice and, critically, the established scheme of the Delhi  
State Government on the relocation of settlements such as Nangla that  
was framed with the approval of the Central Government.

This scheme states that those who have established their homes before  
31.01.1990 are entitled to an 18 sq.m. plot of land while those who  
have established their homes between 01.02.1990 and 31.12.1998 are  
entitled to a plot of 12.5 sq.m.

The scheme states that the relocation would be partially financed by  
the relocatees who will pay a sum of Rs. 7,000/- before being  
allotted a site.

The policy also states that the emphasis will not be on large scale  
relocations and that relocations will not take place without a  
specific use being envisaged for the site to be cleared. In my  
opinion, this is very important, as there is no clear statement from  
anyone setting out the purpose for which the land that Nangla stands  
on now will be used.

The scheme states that the major emphasis will be on in-situ  
upgradation of the settlement, through widening of roads and  
alignment of plots and that the settlements would come under the  
Environmental Improvement in Urban Areas Scheme which looks at the  
provision of basic amenities and sanitation.

This policy has been affirmed by the Supreme Court which has further  
stated that the land plots should be situated near adequate transport  
and other resources.

The petition argues that the demolition of Nangla has taken place in  
complete contravention of these established practices and laws. In my  
opinion, this is an example of the Court exercising the  
administrative and executive functions that are the duty and right of  
the state, part of a larger process whereby the judiciary is "forced"  
to "step in" to "stem the rot".

The petition claims that almost all residents of Nangla are fully  
covered by the extant scheme of the State government and that the  
order of removal ignores this fact.

In an order granting interim relief to the petitioners, the Supreme  
Court has stayed the demolitions until the 9th of May, 2006.

So a thin ray of hope for the Nanglamachi residents but to sound a  
note of caution, this is a very pivotal arena which we have now  
entered. An adverse decision by this court could affect the lives of  
hundreds of millions of people. Much hangs in the balance.

Will keep you all posted. If anyone wants a copy of the order, the  
petition or the synopsis, please mail me.

Aniruddha Shankar