On the morning of June 25, government authorities demolished a residential area in the small colony of Pochanpur, located in Dwarka, southwest Delhi. This colony is home to over 500 migrant workers, primarily from the Bengali-speaking community.
The residents received the demolition notice on June 10 to vacate the land, following which they were reassured by their so-called “landlord”/“contractor” that they had nothing to worry about and that the matter had been taken care of.
Most of the former residents of this colony are migrant labourers who do not have secure, regular, and permanent employment.
A former resident, already poor and now helpless, stood there looking at the rubble as her children nearby collected scraps of metal to sell.
“They gave the first notice two weeks ago. The SDM sir came and warned us to leave or else they would soon come with bulldozers to demolish everything. The landlord said not to worry, he said he had taken care of it and dealt with the authorities, but police and government officials came with the notice multiple times thereafter, so we did not trust the landlord,” she said.
Another helpless person stood there, blankly looking at the ruined remains of what he used to call his home.
“I went to gather money today after they tore down our homes, took out some of my savings, ₹5,000, and reached back here in the afternoon only to get robbed of all the cash and my phone while sleeping in the open on a nearby footpath under compulsion. We are helpless. We thought this government was going to make things better for the poorest human beings like us, who are at the lowest stratum of society. It is otherwise very difficult for us to arrange two square meals for me and my family. That, along with kapda and makan, seems an impossible and distant dream. Unfortunately, in the name of so-called development (apparently only for the richer or the richest), only we poor are suffering throughout without any respite in sight.”
Pochanpur is a small village that has been listed as an unauthorised colony and has also been provided with a provisional regularisation certificate. It falls under the Matiala constituency located in southwest Delhi.
As per the locals and nearby residents, the land had been occupied by a family that resides in Pochanpur itself, who had built jhuggis and rooms/flats to rent out to poor migrant workers at a low cost.
Shop owners around the area informed us that this was not the first time there had been a notice or that authorities had shown up with bulldozers, but no paper trail or previous coverage could be found to substantiate this.
The flats and jhuggis in this area have been bulldozed along with their residents’ hopes and dreams of a pakka makan over their heads in the name of development, surrounded by expressways, DDA/society flats, and an airport.
While the residents therein were informed and given advance notice, no executive or court orders or demolition notices are available in the public domain.
There is a serious lack of information on relevant government authority websites, such as DDA and MCD. This also runs contrary to Delhi CM Rekha Gupta’s recent statement on permanent housing for residents of such slums and houses.
Most of the people living here come from lower classes, extremely poor and underprivileged conditions, and end up working in unorganised sectors. The nature of their jobs does not allow them to stay away from work or get back on their feet easily, making situations even worse for them throughout.
The unnamed landlord had built small houses and jhuggis on the entire land, renting them out to such workers for ₹3,500–4,000 per month.
Strangely and surprisingly, the said “landlord” was allowed to construct such big and permanent structures on government land, which must have taken months to construct, get electricity and water supply, and thereafter rent out to gullible and unsuspecting persons.
That renting out, occupation of government land, and making huge money from rents continued. Strangely, throughout this period, which spanned years, everybody turned a blind eye and allowed such an illegal structure to thrive.
Law enforcement agencies like DDA, MCD, SDM office, police, Jal Board, etc., did not notice such a huge structure and hundreds of persons living there and paying rent to some dishonest, unscrupulous persons.
Such a situation speaks volumes about corruption at every level. It is blatantly visible, apparent, and rampant.
After losing their shelter, this community is also facing increased rent prices in nearby residential areas, making it difficult for the former residents to relocate within such a short span of time.
Hours after the demolition, children and workers were seen trying to salvage items from the rubble that could be sold for any amount of money.
The former residents helplessly waited for the worst to happen, having no other option or alternative place to live.
A small portion of this residential colony still stands, which the locals said would be demolished on July 5.
