In July last year, hundreds of homes were razed by the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad following a Supreme Court order to clear encroachments on forest land. The Indian Express visits the site a year later to find several people continuing to live in the basti, amid the rubble, even as rehabilitation continues to elude many.
By Pavneet Singh Chadha, The Indian Express
Read the entire article at The Indian Express.
Excerpt:
A native of Bihar’s Chhapra, Ansari had purchased a 65 square yard plot in Khori for Rs 70,000 in 2006 and built a house. Over the years, he claims to have spent over Rs 5 lakh on maintenance. He claimed: “When I bought it, I did not know it was on forest land. The mining mafia that used to operate here sold plots to thousands. Over the years, we paid police and officials, who looked the other way… We got our documents and voter IDs made on these addresses — some in Delhi, some in Haryana.”
“We are poor. After our house was razed, we could only afford to rent a tiny room for Rs 2,300 a month. It cannot accommodate a family of six. So, we have kept our belongings there. The children sleep in the room when it rains, while we stay here amid the debris,” said a woman who settled in Khori in 2012.”
Khori Gaon 
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