Protest against eviction of slum dwellers on Old Delhi-Gurugram Road, ETRealty

GURUGRAM: A team of HSVP officials faced stiff resistance when it arrived in Sector 12A to remove illegal slums on Old Delhi-Gurgaon Road around 11am on Wednesday.

Congress functionaries Pankaj Dabar and Seema Pahuja reached the spot along with party workers and urged the officials, led by HSVP’s estate officer-1 Rakesh Saini, to grant a 10-day reprieve to residents. District town planner (enforcement) RS Bhatth was also present as duty magistrate. Slum dwellers along with Congress party workers stood with posters, blocking the roads and sloganeering against the govt. They sought rehabilitation before demolition.

Meanwhile, a police force of around 500 personnel reached the spot and detained the protesters. They were released after the drive concluded in the evening.

According to HSVP officials, the slum occupies around one acre of govt land and has been in existence for nearly 20 years. In 2010, there were 86 huts on the land, which have since grown to 258. The matter was taken to Punjab and Haryana high court, where HSVP agreed to rehabilitate the original 86 slum dwellers by allotting them flats under the Aashiyana Scheme in Sector 47.

“There is encroachment on around one acre of HSVP land,” Saini said.

A shopkeeper from Sector 12A market said the slums had encroached upon the market space over the years.

Requesting protesters not to obstruct the demolition, Bhatth said, “Several complaints of criminal activities in these slums have reached us.”

According to Manav Awaz Organisation founder Abhay Jain, HSVP had done injustice to the slum dwellers.

Congress district (urban) president Pankaj Dabar said that the ruling party intended to give homes to the poor was a sham. “The Aashiyana flats were built during the Congress rule but haven’t been allotted yet. Strongmen have encroached upon areas in the city but nobody is doing anything about that but the poor are being displaced,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sector 47 RWA president Virendra Tyagi said they will oppose the rehabilitation of slum dwellers in their sector.