https://thewire.in/rights/madrasi-camp-demolition-bulldozer-delhi-dda
The Madrasi Camp is primarily home to working class Tamils. The Delhi government has been directed to relocate families living there as the settlements have allegedly been blocking a key drain.
Krishna, a resident of the camp, is an employee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. He says the demolition was arbitrary and offers examples of how structures on the same tract of land have been left untouched while others were taken down.
Residents also point out the glaring disparity of treatment. Krishna notes that a high-profile government housing, also purportedly on encroached land, was never touched.
According to authorities, the camp was allegedly blocking the Barapullah drain, which was leading to the water-logging. But residents say the problem began only after Metro construction in the area, which blocked a water outlet to the Yamuna.
Despite the Delhi government’s claim in court that rehabilitation would happen under the 2015 slum policy, those on the ground say none of the promised help has come.
by Oohini Mukhopadhyay and Zeeshan Kaskar
04/06/2025