New Delhi, Sep 1: The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) demolished around 45 shanties in the JJ cluster of Okhla Phase 2 on Friday as part of an ongoing anti-encroachment drive. The operation was conducted under heavy security to maintain order during the demolition. However, several residents claimed that they were not given sufficient time to vacate their homes and remove their belongings.
According to an official statement from the MCD, the encroachment removal was carried out in compliance with court orders, and vacation notices had been issued on August 27. “The action was taken to clear the right of way of the service lane at Okhla Industrial Phase-II, with the assistance of the police force,” an MCD official informed the news agency PTI.
Despite the MCD’s assertion, the residents alleged that the notice period was inadequate. Dheeraj, a local resident, recounted the abrupt arrival of the demolition team: “They came with bulldozers around 10 AM and did not allow us enough time to retrieve our belongings. Approximately 50 shanties were razed. We have been living here for many years.”
Another resident, Anil Kumar, expressed his frustration: “Several families have been living here for the last 40 years. We have nowhere to go, and we were not given enough time to arrange for an alternate place to move our things.”
The Delhi police confirmed that adequate security personnel were deployed at the site to ensure the demolition proceeded without incident.
This latest demolition is part of a broader campaign by the MCD to address illegal structures and encroachments across the capital. Earlier in August, the MCD began a similar drive in north-west Delhi’s Bhalswa Dairy colony, which was halted temporarily due to protests. The civic body had identified 800 illegal structures in Bhalswa, where land intended for dairy farming had been misused for residential and commercial purposes.
The MCD’s actions continue to spark controversy as displaced residents struggle with the abrupt loss of their homes.
