Why Haryana Govt Shouldn’t Evict Khori Gaon Residents Without Rehabilitation

Despite the fact that the Chandigarh high court and Supreme Court have made it clear that residents cannot be evicted without rehabilitation, the Haryana government still resorted to the demolition of houses.

By Manju Menon and Choudhary Ali Zia Kabir, The Wire

Read the entire article at The Wire.

Excerpt:

The demolitions undertaken so far are a gross violation of the legal standards set by the high court and Supreme Court. Evictions cannot be undertaken without proper rehabilitation. The generic notices for demolition continue to be ‘perverse and cryptic’, repeatedly demanding the residents to show up at the SDM’s office with their land ownership titles.

This is both absurd and nasty on the part of the government that clearly aims to cause fear and anxiety among the residents. When all the cases have stated that the residents don’t claim ownership of the public land on which Khori stands, where is the question of people showing up with land ownership documents? As per law, the notices should have asked the residents to provide other “proof of residence” documents because that would ascertain who is eligible under the Haryana policy on rehabilitation. By demanding proof of ownership time and again from the residents who have never claimed ownership to the land, the Haryana government has scared them into letting go of their homes.