Demolition Begins at Faridabad's Khori Village as SC Deadline Nears

The demolition drive which started on 7 June has been facing strong protests from the villagers.

Demolition drive begins at the Khori Village in Faridabad.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

Authorities from the Faridabad Municipal Corporation demolished several houses in Khori Village on Wednesday, 14 July. The demolition drive, which started on 7 June — after an order by the Supreme Court stated that the village is an encroachment on the Aravali Forest land — has been facing strong protests from the villagers.

The top court in June gave a six-week deadline to the Municipal Corporation to clear the village.

Speaking to The Quint, Rekha a resident of the village said that the authorities demolished multiple houses, which had not been evacuated and still had people residing in them. This, without the government laying down a solid rehabilitation scheme for the villagers.

"There's heavy police deployment and villagers are not being allowed to go near the demolition site. They have several homes where people were still residing. There's no place for them to go."

Rekha, Khori Village resident

Faridabad's Khori Village on Wednesday, 14 July saw heavy police deployment.

(Photo: Accessed by The Quint)

Many Excluded From the Government's Rehabilitation Scheme

While the Faridabad Municipal Corporation on Tuesday announced a ‘Policy for Rehabilitation of Khori Jhuggi Dwellers’, it would only apply to those residents who had an annual income of up to Rs 3 lakh and fulfilled one of the three conditions:

• If the name of the head of the family is registered in the voter list of Badhkal Assembly constituency as of 1 January 2021.

• If the head of the family has an identity card issued by Haryana as of 1 January 2021.

• If any member of the family has an electricity connection issued by DHBVN.

According to this policy, these families would be moved to EWS flats in Dabua Colony and Bapu Nagar.

Earlier, on 30 June, cops detained several protesters including Ravinder and Rajveer Kaur — leaders of the Bhagat Singh Chatra Ekta Manch —ahead of a mahapanchayat scheduled at the Ambedkar Park.