On Saturday, the Delhi Development Authority continued its Delhi demolition campaign in Mehrauli’s Aam Bagh neighbourhood. Further, demolishing a four-story building and five nearby structures even as Kailash Gahlot, the minister of revenue for Delhi, instructed the district magistrate (South) to conduct a new demarcation of the land in the area and notify the land-owning agency of it.
On Friday, the DDA also partially dismantled a few dwellings. Some of which were still being built, as well as some shanties.
DDA employees first toppled the four-story Orchid Apartments building. This was after opposition from the property’s occupants and other neighbourhood neighbors. Then, at around 4.30, the agency’s bulldozers moved forward and destroyed about 4-5 houses in the Jharna neighbourhood.
DDA’s statement on Delhi Demolition Drive:
DDA claimed in a written statement on Saturday that it had begun a demolition effort on Friday to remove encroachment from DDA land in Ladha Sarai Village that fell within Mehrauli Archaeological Park. So far, 1200 square metres of land had been reclaimed.
According to the agency, a demarcation exercise was completed in December 2021 under the order of the Delhi High Court in the presence of members from the DDA and the Waqf Board.
Residents protest against the demolition:
The furious protesters, who were mainly women, yelled anti-government and anti-DDA chants. Some of them charged that the police and DDA employees had “misbehaved” with the gathering. “What were these organizations doing while the apartments were being built and sold? We even have our registration documents and also, consistently pay the house tax.
Some women were arrested early that morning after they allegedly flung red chilli powder at police officers. Chandan Chowdhary, deputy commissioner of police for the south, stated that there were no casualties and no lathi charges. “The police and DDA employees were being hindered by the villagers. Additionally, other women doused them in red chilli pepper, “She said that appropriate legal action would be taken against some of the people who had been detained.
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