[Marxistindia] Press Release

[news from the cpi(m)]

September 4, 2020
 
Press Release
Smt. Brinda Karat, Polit Bureau member of CPI(M) wrote to Shri Piyush
Goayal, Minister of Railways on the Supreme Court judgment of August 31
directing removal of all jhuggi clusters on railway land. 
We are releasing the text of the letter for publication.
 
(For CPI(M) Central Committee office)
________________________________________________________________
Shri Piyush Goyal ji,
Namaskar. This is with reference to the Supreme Court judgement of August 31
directing removal of all jhuggi clusters on railway land adjacent to railway
tracks within three months.  You are no doubt aware that the Delhi High
Court in its judgement last year had directed that arrangements for
rehabilitation must be made in the event of relocation being required. It
appears that since the jhuggi dwellers were not made parties before the
Supreme Court, the bench may not have been aware of this Delhi High Court
judgement otherwise it is difficult to understand how a three member bench
of the apex court could have given such an inhuman judgement, that too at a
time of the pandemic.
In any case as the Minister for Railways you have the authority to ensure
that jhuggi dwellers are ensured relocation and rehabilitation before the
order is implemented. According to estimates given before the Court,
approximately 48,000 jhuggi dwellers are to be evicted which means between
2.5 lakh to 3 lakh people including women and children. At the time of the
pandemic, this will lead to a health disaster putting substantial numbers at
grave risk. You are no doubt aware that at present Delhi is grappling with a
second wave of the spread of the Covid -19. It will be highly irresponsible
of the Railway Ministry to evict people at this time. Secondly because of
the lockdown, jhuggi dwellers have faced a huge drop in their meagre income
and are already suffering. At such a time to turn them into homeless
citizens would be an unconscionable act. You are also aware of the various
national housing related policy frameworks adopted from time to time which
promote in situ rehabilitation of slum dwellers with relocation as the last
resort. In this case there is neither in situ development being thought of
as an option nor even relocation.
I would request you to intervene to prevent eviction without relocation,
rehabilitation and compensation. People, families are not homeless or do not
live in jhuggis out of choice but because of policies of successive central
Governments which have pushed them to the margins. The right to a home is a
basic human right, not charity.
Yours sincerely,
 
 
Brinda Karat
 
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