Over 100 structures on the banks of the Taimoor Nagar drain were demolished by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) under heavy police and paramilitary presence on the directions of the High Court.
A team of at least eight excavators began demolishing “illegal constructions” in Taimoor Nagar, southeast Delhi, from 9 am on Monday.
This development comes after the High Court, on Saturday, refused to stay the demolition of alleged encroachments around the Taimoor Nagar drain.
The court attributed the flooding in various parts of the Capital, including South Delhi, on Friday, following heavy showers and thunderstorms, to the drain’s inability to discharge rainwater downstream due to the alleged encroachments.
A petition filed by the Dhobi Ghat Jhuggi Adhikar Manch, sought to prevent the demolition of slum settlements in the Batla House area.
The petitioners requested that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) suspend further demolitions and conduct a survey of affected residents for rehabilitation under the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) Policy, 2015.
On the other side, residents of the nearby Maharani Bagh had approached the court, citing significant flooding during the monsoon.
They argued that “illegal garbage dumping and unauthorised construction along the Taimoor Nagar drain had reduced its drainage capacity, causing polluted water to backflow into the streets of upscale areas like Maharani Bagh and New Friends Colony.”
The slum clusters are situated along the drain, with an urban village located on the opposite side. The underground drainage pipelines from nearby colonies discharge into what is supposed to be a 20-foot-wide drain along Eastern Avenue Road. However, the residents of Maharani Bagh argue that due to alleged encroachments and waste buildup, the drain narrows to only 4-5 feet near the Taimoor Nagar slums, creating a severe bottleneck. This reduced capacity leads to backflow into upstream colonies, forcing the civic body to manually pump out the water.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.
