HSVP demolishes 172 illegal huts in Sector 12A amid resistance from locals

The drive started with verbal quarrels between the hut owners, who had gathered in large numbers along with women and children and sat there refusing to give way to the enforcement team.

The enforcement team of Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) on Wednesday said that it has demolished 172 illegal huts in the Sector 12A HSVP market on Old Delhi Gurgaon road amid resistance by locals, some of whom were detained during the drive, said HSVP officials.

During the demolition drive in Sector 12 on Wednesday. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

The demolition started around 12.30pm and continued till late evening. The enforcement team was led by RS Bhath, district nodal officer, enforcement and Rakesh Saini, estate officer one.

The drive started with verbal quarrels between the hut owners, who had gathered in large numbers along with women and children and sat there refusing to give way to the enforcement team. Congress leaders and workers also opposed the demolition drive citing it as injustice against the poor residents.

A team of Gurugram police, which was deployed on the site, had to carry out a minor cane charge and detain a few women protesters after which the demolition started around 1 pm. “The interests of the 86 owners, who have been identified as genuine beneficiaries by the district administration committee remains protected. However, the remaining huts will be demolished. We have managed to demolish around 172 huts,” said RS Bhath, district nodal officer, enforcement, Gurugram.

Bhath also said that adequate time was given to the hut owners to clear their shanties and the directions of the government were clear that government land must be vacated.

According to a HSVP official, there were 258 huts on the site, out of which 86 will be spared till alternative flats under the Ashiyana scheme are allotted to the owners, while the remaining 172 huts were cleared. In November 2014, chief administrator, HSVP had directed the authority in Gururgam to allot alternative flats under Ashiyana Scheme after the market association approached the court for relief in the matter, said HSVP officials aware of the matter.

When asked about the matter, Rakesh Saini, estate officer one, HSVP, said that 86 owners of huts, who were identified by a district administration committee in 2018 will be shifted only after they are allotted the flats under the Ashiyana policy. “All precautions have been taken to ensure that none of the 86 huts are affected in the demolition drive. We will however clear the illegal huts as this colony is constructed on HSVP land,” he said, adding that the action was being taken as per rules and illegally encroached land was vacated.

When asked about the delay in allotment of flats, HSVP officials said that the matter of flat allotment has remained stuck due to legal issues.

The counsels for hutment owners, however termed the demolition drive as unjust and alleged that HSVP had not delivered on the promise of allotting flats to the 204 beneficiaries as was originally promised.

“The HSVP has submitted in the court that it has allotted flats to 86 hut owners but in reality none of the owners has got any allotment of possession of flats. All this is an eyewash and poor people are being made to suffer as they don’t have political and economic heft. We will challenge this move in court,” said Abhay Jain, counsel for the jhuggi dwellers, who added that the HSVP had submitted false information in the court to get permission for demolition.

The protesting owners, meanwhile, said that they had been living on the land for the last 40 to 50 years and government is taking unjust action. “We are very poor people and barely manage to survive. The government has not given us any flats but is demolishing our huts without any reason,” said Raj Kumar, a resident

Congress also supported the cause of the residents and demanded that the hut owners should first be given the promised flats and only then the demolition should be carried out.

“We are only asking for a stop to demolition till the flats are allotted to the owners. Why is demolition being carried out in such a hurry? The Congress government constructed over 1000 Ashiyana EWS flats in 2010 but the current government has called to do that in the last 10 years,” said Pankaj Dawar, district Congress president, who had come at the site in support of the protesters.