Locals Protest As Demolition Drive In Delhi's Mehrauli Continues

The anti-encroachment drive in New Delhi's Mehrauli continued for the fourth consecutive day on Monday amid heavy police and para-military forces deployment.

A large number of locals whose structures were declared illegal held a protest and created a commotion while demanding the action to be stopped.

"We told them to wait for an hour during which the stay order will come. We had applied for a stay order. This is hooliganism. But they are not ready to wait," the locals said.

Delhi Development Authority (DDA) however did not listen to their cry and went ahead with the demolition action.

Earlier on Sunday, raging protestors allegedly threw red chilli powder on the security personnel deployed at the protest site, prompting Delhi Police to issue a warning for suitable legal action.

The police also clarified that they did not resort to lathi charge and that claims of locals being injured were baseless.

An official statement from the DDA on Saturday said that the drive is intended to clear the unauthorised encroachments on the government's land that houses protected monuments of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) among others was started by the DDA on Friday in co-ordination with Delhi Police at Lado Sarai Village falling in Mehrauli Archaeological Park.

The statement further read that a demarcation exercise, to identify the extent of unauthorized and illegal encroachment or construction, for the purpose of removing them, had been carried out as per the direction of the High Court by the Revenue Department, representatives, in the presence of DDA and Waqf Board representatives in December 2021.

This matter pertains to DDA's demolition drive in different colonies falling under ward number 8 of Mehrauli.

Advocate Ankit Jain appearing on behalf of one petitioner Ruchi and 16 others moved a plea against the Delhi government, DDA, and the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) stating that the properties of the petitioners are in the urbanised village Mehrauli, which falls within 'Lal Dora' land and has been duly registered with the Sub Divisional Magistrate's Office, Mehrauli since the year 2001.

The sum and substance of the said demolition order are that some Khasra numbers, falling in the village 'Ladha Sarai', have been encroached upon by unauthorised occupants, the petition stated.

It is also said that the said notice to the properties falling in the village Ladha Sarai and the Mehrauli Archeological Park.

The notice granted the said occupants to evict the area within 10 days. It was argued that the properties of the petitioners are falling in neither of the above. The petitioners' properties are self-owned and have been in existence for more than 25 years.

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