5 min readNew DelhiFeb 18, 2023 09:37 AM IST
First published on: Feb 18, 2023 at 08:22 AM IST
The Delhi High Court recently held that policy for rehabilitation of jhuggis will not be applicable to commercial shops while hearing a plea by Khanpur market shopkeepers who were asked to move in view of the construction of the Delhi Metro corridor between Aerocity-Tughlakabad Corridor.
Remarking that the “struggle between rehabilitation and redevelopment is an ongoing one”, a single judge bench of Justice Prathiba Singh in its February 14 order however passed a slew of directions with respect to relocation and rehabilitation of the shopkeepers. Although the court was not convinced that there were any residential premises within or besides the shops, the HC however directed DUSIB to ensure that the community centre at F block, Dakshinpuri is made available for use by the association and their families as a temporary shelter for three months replete with proper water, toilet facility and electricity connection.
The court said that in case the members of the Association, and their family requests for more time to stay at the shelter they can approach the HC again. The HC told the association that their members can shift to the shelter within a week and they were also permitted to shift their goods and other stock lying in their shops to a secure location of their choice.
“After a period of one week, the interim order passed by this Court on 2nd January, 2023 shall no longer be operative. The DMRC and DUSIB are free to commence the work in respect of the Aerocity-Tughlakabad Corridor of the MRTS project,” the order states.
The HC on January 2 had directed DUSIB, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation and District Magistrate South to maintain status quo with regard to the shops in possession of the members of the petitioner association.
The HC also directed the DUSIB to verify whether any of the members of the association are entitled to rehabilitation, and if they are, a decision with respect to their rehabilitation will be passed within three months. “The JJ clusters, if any, which are stated to be part of the notified cluster, located behind the commercial shops/area shall not be disturbed except in accordance with law,” the HC said.
Members of the Khanpur Market Association Regd. had challenged a December 2022 notice by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) which directed them to remove their belongings and themselves from the shops in view of the construction of the Aerocity-Tughlakabad Corridor of the MRTS project phase-IV.
The plea stated that the Association consists of members who are shopkeepers and squatters running small and petty businesses from the shops/jhuggis situated in Mehrauli Badarpur (M.B.) Road, Khanpur Market, since the past 50 years in this particular location and belonged to the vulnerable communities.
It was their case that they were that they are being dispossessed without fair compensation as required under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, (‘Fair Compensation Act’) and that they are not being compensated even though they are ‘Project Affected Families’ and ‘Project Affected Persons’.
It was argued by the respondent authorities that the association is not covered under the Fair Compensation Act as the land in question is public land which the Petitioners have encroached. It was submitted that the construction work on the entire corridor itself has come to a standstill because of the status quo order.
DUSIB argued that Khanpur Harijan camp and Banjara camp, which is notified in the notified JJ clusters, does not include the shops, as, under the Delhi Slum & JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015, commercial shops are not covered. It was argued that if in the shops there are any families which are residing, the DUSIB is willing to provide temporary shelter to the affected families for a period of three months at the local community centre at F block, Dakshinpuri which is under the control of DUSIB.
DMRC claimed that its project does not involve the removal of jhuggis and only shops which are illegally encroaching the area next to the main road on the MB Road are being removed for construction of the Aerocity-Tughlakabad corridor of the MRTS project phase-IV.
“Insofar as the RFC Act is concerned, clearly, the said Act would not be applicable to the present case as a reading of Section 2 of the RFC Act makes it clear that the same applies when the Government acquires others’ land for a public purpose,” the HC said observing that the Act would obviously not apply to removal of encroachments from public or Government land.
The HC further said that the Delhi Slum & JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015 which provides mandatory rehabilitation for people living in the JJ clusters notified by DUSIB, is applicable to residential jhuggi jhopris and not commercial shops.
Reading the provisions of the DUSIB Act along with the Delhi Slum & JJ Rehabilitation and Relocation Policy, 2015 the HC came to the conclusion that the policy of providing rehabilitation would not be applicable to the commercial shops.
The HC also directed the DUSIB to verify whether any of the members of the association are entitled to rehabilitation, and if they are, a decision with respect to their rehabilitation will be passed within three months. 
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