Home Dehradun Govt to bring ordinance again to protect slum colonies

Govt to bring ordinance again to protect slum colonies

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By Arun Pratap Singh

Dehradun, 22 Oct: Sources have confirmed that the government will be coming up with an ordinance once again to protect the slum colonies from demolition. It may be recalled that Garhwal Post had already indicated that instead of finding a permanent solution to the issue of slum colonies located around the banks of rivers like Rispana, Bindal and Song, etc., the government was likely to go for a quick-fix solution of promulgating an ordinance for another three years. The three-year period of the ordinance currently in force is ending tomorrow.

The issue of regularising slum colonies in the state is once again making headlines in the state, particularly in the wake of upcoming municipal elections. Every time before the civic elections, the Congress raises the issue and demands regularisation of the slum colonies. The slum colonies serve as a vote bank for many local politicians cutting across political affiliations, though it is a major vote bank of Congress which openly demands regularisation of slum colonies every time before the civic polls, something that the ruling party is unable to openly promise because of technical reasons. However, the BJP is also sensitive towards the possible political outcomes of the issue and, therefore, since 2018, it has brought an ordinance against demolition of slum colonies twice already.

In 2018, the then Trivendra Singh Rawat Government had brought an ordinance to prevent demolition of slums as had been ordered by the Uttarakhand High Court. This ordinance was valid for three years. In 2021, the BJP Government again extended the protection of the slum colonies for three years. This deadline is expiring tomorrow, and sources have today confirmed that the government will soon come up with another ordinance, protecting the slum colonies for another three-year period. With the civic elections likely to be held in December, both Congress and the BJP are eyeing the big vote bank living in slum colonies in large cities like Dehradun.

Urban Development Minister Premchand Agarwal today indicated that, in the cabinet meeting scheduled to be held tomorrow, the government may propose promulgation of another ordinance for three years to protect the slum colonies.

Congress claims that its government had started the process of regularisation of slum colonies in the state in view of the strict stand of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and the order of the Uttarakhand High Court regarding the removal of encroachments but added that it could not complete the process as it lost power in the state in 2017.

In 2018, the Uttarakhand High Court had ordered demolition of all illegal slum colonies located on the banks of rivers. In order to avoid the possible adverse outcome of such an exercise, the BJP Government led by Trivendra Singh had promulgated an ordinance and, later, in 2021, the BJP Government again promulgated it.

It may be recalled that in pursuance of the NGT’s orders, Dehradun Nagar Nigam has identified 524 illegal encroachments on the banks of the Rispana. These encroachments were on the land of Nagar Nigam, the MDDA and the land belonging to the Revenue Department as well as on the land owned by Mussoorie Municipal Council.  A report by all the departments concerned was submitted to the Doon Nagar Ngiam which prepared affidavits and submitted the report to the Uttarakhand High Court in July this year.  It may be pertinent to remind here that the report only pertained to the encroachments that were done along 27 kilometres of the Rispana river’s banks after 2016 as the government aims to regularise older encroachments. Among these, 89 encroachments were found on the land of the Municipal Corporation, 12 on land of Mussoorie Municipal Council while 412 encroachments were identified on the land given to MDDA for the River Front Development Project under the control of the Municipal Corporation. After that objections were heard on the identified encroachments. However, sources claim that during the hearing of the objections, many encroachers had “falsely managed to convince the authorities” that their encroachments were older than 2016. Hence, a final list of 74 encroachments was prepared by the Municipal Corporation, and after revision, 64 constructions were demolished in Chuna Bhatta, Deepnagar, and Bodyguard Basti.

However, it may be pointed out here that the Uttarakhand High Court and the NGT have nothing to do with the supposed old or new encroachment. If the High Court’s orders are to be followed in right earnest, then existence of 582 slums across the state, including 129 slums in Dehradun, will be automatically declared as illegal category, and the High Court’s order regarding the demolition of all these illegal settlements will come into force. In Dehradun alone, sources claim that there are over 40,000 houses in 129 slum colonies.

Sources also claim that regularisation of the slum colonies is technically not easy and therefore promulgating an ordinance to grant temporary relief to slum dwellers seems an easier way out, otherwise the only technically feasible solution is demolition of all illegal slum colonies.