The South Delhi Municipal Corporation is expected to survey illegal constructions in parts of South Delhi on Thursday. The move comes a week after the Supreme Court ordered a halt to a demolition drive in Jahangirpuri, which had witnessed communal unrest.
Reports said SDMC Mayor Mukesh Suryan, a BJP member, and municipal commissioner are expected to take stock of encroachments in Jaitpur, Sarita Vihar and Madanpur Khadar on Thursday. Suryan had inspected parts of Jaitpur, Sarita Vihar and Madanpur Khadar on Wednesday and claimed an anti-encroachment drive would be undertaken in Shaheen Bagh also. Shaheen Bagh had made international headlines as the site of protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in late 2019.
Suryan was quoted by The Indian Express as saying “We will run bulldozers in areas where Bangladeshis and Rohingyas have settled and where there are illegal encroachments.” He declared anti-encroachment drives would be done in all areas, except where courts had ordered a stay.
Not surprisingly, the announcements by the SDMC mayor have triggered opposition. Abdul Wajid Khan, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor from ward 102, which covers areas such as Shaheen Bagh and Abul Fazal Enclave in Okhla, told Hindustan Times, Muslim-majority areas were being targeted. “First, they delayed the municipal polls fearing a defeat and now there is a clear attempt to fuel sectarian divide among communities. Their (BJP) tenure is ending on May 18 and in the last month alone, they have decided to target encroachments. Why didn’t they start from ward number 1, instead of selectively targeting particular areas,” he was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
Durgesh Pathak, an AAP leader, was quoted by The Hindu as saying “We are getting complaints from all over Delhi that BJP leaders are threatening people with demolition. They are barging into their homes saying that there is a problem in your house; your balcony is wrong, pointing out frivolous shortcomings. They are saying if you don’t want your house to be demolished, then pay a ransom, otherwise we will get bulldozers to run over your house.”
The SDMC mayor had said that a month-long plan has been prepared to remove encroachments from government lands, roads, and footpaths in areas that include Okhla, Madanpur Khadar, Sarita Vihar, Jaitpur, Lajpat Nagar, Badarpur, Greater Kailash, Dwarka, Vasant Kunj, Vikas Puri and Shaheen Bagh.
