20 yrs after ‘rebuilding’ their lives, over 280 homes in Bakramandi face eviction; to move High court again

Asking them to vacate in 10 days, the civic body has issued notices to residents of over 280 houses, stating that the shanties encroached on a town-planning road.

This is the latest in a long-drawn conflict between the residents of the settlement that lay behind the largest goat market in Ahmedabad and the municipal corporation that has previously seen the razing of 175 houses in 2005 and their subsequent reconstruction following a Gujarat High Court order the same year, said residents.

“My mother is 106 years old and our house has been in the family since the time of my grandmother. (In 2005) we slept in the open for six months till that HC order came. Then, in 2022, the AMC again gave notice for partial demolition,” said Naseembanu.

Mahesh Tabiyar, the Deputy Estate Officer for West Zone of the AMC, told The Indian Express, “This is a 24-metre Town Planning (TP) road and we had served notices in 2022. There were representations made against that order and now, after a final decision in that matter, we served the eviction notices to 288 houses falling in the 500-metre long span that passes through the settlement.”

The shanties are situated in Ranip area

Residents claim they have been living on the land for four generations.

Qureshi Mohammed Yusuf (52) said, “In 2022, they gave us a notice and called us for a meeting. They told us they would give us optional housing within 1-3 km but there has been no outcome of this promise.”

Advocate Shamshad Pathan, the Gujarat president of the Association of Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), who is representing the residents, said the settlement is made up of roughly 1,500 homes with multiple families living in a single house. He said that while 175 homes had been demolished before the stay order from 2005, the AMC had already sent final eviction notices to 288 homes between January 27 and February 2, with more expected to receive them shortly.

Under Pathan’s leadership, the residents facing eviction gave a memorandum to AMC estate department officials Monday.

Pathan said, “The eviction notice says that the Gujarat Town Planning Act has no provision for resettlement. But they should read section 122(1), which states that resettlement must be done. We will show them that and we will approach the HC and file a PIL and ask the court to take action against the AMC.”

Section 122(1) of the Gujarat Town Planning Act states, “Control by State Government: (1)Every appropriate authority shall carry out such directions or instructions as may be issued from time to time by the State Government for the efficient administration of this Act.”

This, in turn, refers to the “Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act” passed by the Government of India in 2013. Further, under this Central Act, the Gujarat government had formed the “Gujarat Slum Rehabilitation Policy – PPP – 2013”. Section 13 of this policy pertains to “Rehabilitation of the Project Affected Persons and Other Eligible Slum Dwellers”.

When asked about the 2005 order of the Gujarat HC that had stayed demolition, Tabiyar said, “This matter is very old and so we have asked the residents to provide documentation. Based on this, we can make a decision on rehabilitation. They can submit any documents that show their previous residence there.”

The Deputy Estate Officer said, “We have written 10 days in the order but we will process all the claims of the people who submit their documents in this regard. Then we will sort them out and put them up before higher authorities to take a decision on those eligible for rehabilitation.”

Shamsunissa Pathan, a housewife, is not convinced.

“They had demolished our houses without a single day’s notice in 2005 using three bulldozers. They do not have any intention to give us an optional house. Where will we go now? The children have their exams soon and Ramzan is also almost upon us. We keep coming here (to the AMC office) and submit property documents but to no avail. My house was in the name of my husband’s grandfather, then my father-in-law and now my husband. They (the authorities) are still not ready to give us another roof even as they are snatching our homes away,” said the 46-year-old.

According to advocate Pathan, “The residents of the settlement, comprising Dalit, Muslim, Adivasi, Devipujak and Thakor communities, have been living here before the area came under the jurisdiction of the AMC. This was Ranip Nagarpalika (at that time). The Jan Sangharsh Manch (an NGO for civil rights) had approached the HC and a two-judge bench had passed an order of status quo ante, enabling people to rebuild their homes.”

Ramiben Dhanabhai (45), who makes Lord Ganesh statues for a living, said, “Back in 2005, we lost three houses – one was mine, another was my son’s and a third belonged to my father-in-law. We rebuilt them. They promised us houses but now there is nothing.”