New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday extended the time allocated for Faridabad Municipal Corporation by four more weeks to demolish houses in Khori Gaon, Faridabad, Haryana which are built illegally on forest land.
The bench comprising of Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice Dinesh Maheshwari was hearing a bunch of pleas pertaining to the demolition of around 10,000 houses. The court was informed by the corporation today that out of 150 acres, 74 acres of land is back in the corporation's possession and for the rest, it would require three more weeks of time.
For residents' rehabilitation, the court asked its advocate Colin Gonsalves to submit their suggestions on rehabilitation policy to the commissioner of Municipal Corporation by tomorrow and asked the corporation to complete the exercise in the following week. The final policy shall be notified not later than July 31.
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The state, in its affidavit, has assured of temporary shelter and food but the advocates highlighted that it is not being complied with. Senior advocate Meenkashi Arora said that at least 75,000 people do not have shelter. Regarding this, the court asked the state to comply with all the measures and asked the affected people to approach the commissioner of the municipal corporation with their grievances. The court also asked for put on record reason for not granting relief, which will later be examined.
The court rejected the prayer of giving notice to people before demolition and taking them to shelter. It said that mass demolition is being carried out and giving notice to individuals is not possible. The demolition is going on in a phased manner.
Gonsalves had brought judges' notice to illegal farmhouses, ashrams, hotels etc on forest land and added that those exist safely. The court said that all unauthorised structures will be removed by the corporation without any exception. "All forest land unauthorised structures...whether it is farmer or building, we are not concerned," said Justice Khanwilkar.
One of the issues raised was that people in Delhi area are also getting affected. Delhi should also be made a party and ordered to rehabilitate people. The court replied that Delhi's municipal corporation will be dealt with separately after proceedings are over.
