The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted the residents of the slum near the Prime Minister’s Race Course Road residence six weeks’ time to vacate their camps and move to Savda Ghevra where they are being rehabilitated.
The court’s direction followed appeals by the slum dwellers. Spread across three camps, the slum is home to 700-odd families.
The division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, while issuing the direction Tuesday, also constituted a committee headed by former Delhi district judge Man Mohan Sharma to monitor the rehabilitation. The seven-member committee, comprising high-ranking officials from various government authorities, shall “consistently monitor and supervise rehabilitation of the dwellers” ensure that the amenities, as promised to the slum dwellers by the government, with the term of the monitoring committee fixed for a period of six months. Delhi HC has also empowered the Committee Monitoring to issue directions to all the agencies concerned, “which may be required and deemed fit for the purposes of rehabilitating the dwellers of Jhuggi Jhopri bastis in a meaningful manner…”
The court also directed the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board to “facilitate transportation of household articles/belongings” of the slum dwellers to Savda Ghevra.
Raising their voices against the rehabilitation in Savda Ghevra, which is around 45 kilometres away from the slum, residents had said that the same will deprive them of their livelihoods, with most of them currently engaged in blue-collar jobs in the vicinity of the camps near the PM’s residence. The dwellers had also alleged a lack of basic amenities, including schools, in Savda Ghevra.
It was the government’s case that the eviction is necessary as “the location of the present camps is adjoining military installations”. The government also highlighted a need to strengthen the defence infrastructure. It had said, “In the current global security situation, which involves increased threats and the risk of conflict or war-like conditions, the presence of unauthorised structures in this sensitive area creates serious risks to national security, public safety, and the protection of vital installations.” The government had initiated the process for their eviction in October last year.
The government, represented by ASG Chetan Sharma and the Centre’s standing counsel Ashish Dixit has assured the slum’s residents one free Metro card for a year, extendable up to three years, and free bus travel for one member per family for a year.
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The Prime Minister’s residence — 7, Lok Kalyan Marg — is located a few kilometres from the slum. As per the rehabilitation policy of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), a joint survey was conducted by the Land and Development Office (L&DO) under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and the Delhi Development Authority in January 2024 to assess if the residents were eligible for alternate housing. It was subsequently decided that the slum dwellers would be rehabilitated at the DUSIB Colony in Savda Ghevra.
A notice was issued to the residents on October 29 last year that was then challenged in the High Court a month later.
In March this year, the Centre had conceded to an exception, saying that in a one-off instance, it would consider all residents of the slum as eligible for rehabilitation.
Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court
Professional Profile
Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express.
Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare).
Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others.
She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020.
With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram
Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)
Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles:
High-Profile Case Coverage
She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy.
Signature Style
Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system.
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