Remove refugee encroachments from Yamuna floodplains, DDA told

“You may permit them (refugees) to stay in India. But this does not meant they will illegally occupy land,” said NGT chairman A K Goel, adding that the law of the land applies to everyone — be it an Indian citizen or a refugee.

DDA counsel Rajeev Bansal told the four-member bench that the refugees were living in camps without any basic amenities: “For the past five years, electricity connections have not been provided to them. Water connection was recently allotted.”

To this, judicial member K Ramakrishnan said the government should treat refugees as human beings. “First, they are refugees. Second, they are legal refugees. Why not treat them as human beings by giving them facilities so they can lead their life with dignity?”

Bansal said this question can be answered only by the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is looking after the issue of these refugees. The bench also suggested that the refugees can be rehabilitated elsewhere.

Last month, the NGT, while hearing a petition on rejuvenation of the Yamuna, had directed the DDA to demarcate the Yamuna floodplains within three months and remove encroachments in another three months.