Between EMIs & bulldozers, Mehrauli residents have nowhere to go

Pooja Das said her home is legal. Gajendra Yadav

While locals alleged they were thrashed, police denied this. “They (residents) were obstructing DDA personnel and police. Some women threw chilli powder at the police. A few were detained. Suitable legal action will be taken,” said a senior police officer. They were released later.

On Sunday, Manjula Kumari (40), who bought a 2BHK flat in Pearl Residency, a multi-storey building in Andheria Mor, stood outside the complex with other residents. Next to them was rubble from a five-storey building that was partially demolished two days ago. For the moment, their building, along with a few others, has managed to procure a stay order from the High Court till February 16. The court’s status quo is for 8 plot numbers in ward 8.

A single mother of three, Kumari moved to Delhi in 2019 for her children’s education. She works as a government employee with the CRPF and is currently posted in Chandigarh. Her parents and her children live in the house she bought while she visits regularly. “On Friday, my daughter came home from school and called me crying about the bulldozers demolishing the building nearby. I took leave and got here as soon as I could… I have put in all I have into this house. There has been no electricity for two days and we have not eaten anything,” said Kumari, who hails from Bihar.

She said she took a loan of Rs 28 lakh from a government bank for the flat, which cost Rs 30 lakh. The EMI will now go on for the next 17 years and she has been paying about Rs 25,000 every month. Kumari said she will stop paying the EMI and go to court to fight this injustice.

Residents also expressed concerns about their children’s upcoming Board examinations and how their studies have been disrupted.

Rajeev Ranjan, a resident of Pearl Residency for two years now, said: “We have a registry. We paid the money by taking loans from government banks. We are all middle-class working people and cannot afford to buy a house if loans are not sanctioned. How can you call this illegal if we hold all government documents?”

The 38-year-old works at a private IT firm in Noida and lives with his wife, seven-year-old son and elderly father at their 2BHK house. He is the sole breadwinner.

Rajeev Ranjan said the home was legal. Gajendra Yadav

Ranjan took a loan of about Rs 26.5 lakh for the flat and pays an EMI of Rs 21,000 per month, currently at an interest rate of 9.4%, which he said will last for the next 20 years. “This is my hard-earned money. We saved for four-five years to make this home for ourselves. We can’t leave unless there is a solid decision from the court. We can’t afford to rent out a new house with the ongoing EMI, we are not even sure whether we will be able to pay our EMI back,” said Ranjan, who hails from Bihar.

He said 12 out of 13 homeowners in his apartment complex have taken a loan.

Some expressed disappointment at their homes being tagged as ‘jhuggis’. “The media is calling our home a jhuggi, an unauthorised colony,” said John, who hails from Darjeeling.

He said he took a loan of Rs 25 lakh from a private bank, at a higher interest rate of 12.5%, to buy a 2BHK flat in Pearl Residency. “At the age of 45, I have no strength or means to make extra money. I have absolutely no idea what to do next,” he said.

Several residents also sold their gold to buy a house in the locality. One such person was Pooja Das (38) from Kolkata. A single mother who works as a cook at homes in Delhi, she borrowed about Rs 9 lakh from her relatives and sold gold to buy a 1BHK flat worth Rs 15 lakh in Greens Apartment. “People are calling this a jhuggi jhopdi. We have a proper registry; the government has levied stamp duty, we hold electricity and water bills, and we pay house tax. How can this be illegal?” Das asked.