The Supreme Court of India has often taken up cases ‘suo moto’. This means they take up cases by their own notice, without any petition being filed, or interest being brought before them. One of the earliest cases was taken up in 1994, to address pollution in the Yamuna River. It is still pending for disposal. Interestingly, one of the most recent suo moto cases in 2021 also looks at pollution in rivers more broadly.
But the Court remained unimpressed on the demolition of houses and forced eviction until very recently when petitions were filed against the demolition drive in Gujarat. Hearing the plea of a family from Gujarat whose home the municipal authorities had threatened to bulldoze, a bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy, Sudhanshu Dhulia and SVN Bhatti strongly disapproved the bulldozer practice.
The Supreme Court on September 17, 2024 froze illegal bulldozer demolitions across the country till October 1, drawing attention to reports of “glorification, grandstanding and even justifications” of the razing of private homes and properties of undertrials and their immediate family members.
“The court cannot be oblivious to such demolition threats, inconceivable in a country where law is supreme,” the court said. “Such actions may be seen as running a bulldozer over laws of the land,” the court added.
The Supreme Court passed an interim order that no demolition should take place in the country without its permission. The Court however clarified that this order won’t be applicable to encroachments on public roads, footpaths, railway lines, or water bodies.
Unmindful of Court Directives,Demolitions Continue
Despite the clear order of the Supreme Court, the authorities in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district on 28th September 2024 demolished nine mosques and shrines, and 45 homes in the PrabhasPatan area near the Somnath temple for alleged land encroachment.
700-year-old Shrine Razed to Ground
Nusrat Panja, vice president of the Congress’ Gujarat unit, claimed the demolitions were “illegal”. Panja asserted that the structures had a history of 700 years to 800 years and were protected as Waqf Board properties. “But the collector, and by extension, the government misinterpreted court judgements to demolish these structures.” He further said that a Veraval court had ruled that the Waqf tribunal should decide the civil suit regarding the land.
“The parties concerned moved the Gujarat High Court, seeking protection against any coercive action,”Panja added. “The High Court had fixed October 8 as the date of hearing. But before that hearing, the collector ordered demolition after giving a final warning on 27th September.”
Bulldozer Politics
Bulldozers first entered the poll lexicon in Uttar Pradesh, with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath seeing in them an affirmation of both his government’s “tough on criminals” and “high on development” image.
From Assam to Gujarat, UP and Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, Haryana and Rajasthan, bulldozer has become a political tool and communal weapon also.
From demolition to campaign, bulldozers become a pan-party tool to pull in crowds in Haryana these days. Once just an innocuous piece of construction equipment and today a symbol of state power and politics, bulldozers are visible everywhere as the campaign hots up.
The Horrific Details
The Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) has sounded the alarm on the deepening crisis of forced evictions in India with the release of its latest report titled “Forced Evictions in India: 2022 & 2023.”
This report, the sixth in HLRN’s series on evictions, documents an alarming rise in demolitions and highlights the devastating effects on India’s urban and rural poor. It reveals that more people than ever have been displaced from their homes due to government-led demolition drives, further aggravating homelessness, landlessness, and poverty.
According to HLRN’s findings, over the past seven years, more than 1.68 million people have been forcibly evicted across India, with the numbers surging particularly in the last two years. From 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2023, around 7.4 lakh people lost their homes as a result of state-driven demolitions. The scale and pace of these evictions reached unprecedented levels in 2023, with 515,752 people evicted and 107,449 homes demolished across the country. These figures mark a grim milestone in India’s housing rights crisis and underscore the worsening situation for marginalized communities.
Key Findings from HLRN’s Report
In the span of two years, state authorities across central, state, and local levels have destroyed over 1.5 lakh homes, displacing vast numbers of people. The scale of these evictions is staggering: on average, 294 homes were demolished each day in 2023, with 58 people evicted every hour. In comparison, 2022 saw the demolition of 46,371 homes and the displacement of 222,686 people, amounting to around 129 houses destroyed daily and 25 people evicted every hour. The report presents a clear upward trend in the frequency and magnitude of forced evictions.
The data also reveal that 31% of the people forcibly evicted during this period belonged to historically marginalized groups, including Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, nomadic communities, migrant workers, and religious minorities. A significant proportion – 58.7% – of evictions occurred under the banner of slum clearance, encroachment removal, and city beautification projects. Other reasons for evictions included infrastructure and development projects (35%), environmental projects and conservation efforts (4.7%), disaster management (0.7%), and miscellaneous causes such as village disputes and the demolition of government-built housing (0.9%).
Regional Impact and Non-Compliance with Rights
The National Capital Territory of Delhi emerged as the region most affected by forced evictions, recording 78 incidents in 2022 and 2023 alone. In 2023, Delhi authorities evicted approximately 2.8 lakh people – the highest number for any location in India. Despite the severe human cost of these evictions, state authorities have largely failed to provide adequate rehabilitation.
In 82% of the documented cases in 2023 and 58% in 2022, no resettlement or alternative accommodation was offered to those displaced. This blatant disregard for the rights of affected individuals is a violation of both Indian legal frameworks and international human rights standards, including the United Nations (UN) Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-based Evictions and Displacement.
In most cases, state authorities carried out the demolitions without adhering to the procedural safeguards mandated by Indian courts or international norms. The Sudama Singh and Ajay Maken judgments of the Delhi High Court, which outline the necessity of proper resettlement measures, were disregarded in many cases, along with the UN guidelines. Consequently, these forced evictions have led to widespread violations of human rights, including the right to adequate housing, food, health, and education.
Recommendations for Addressing the Crisis
The HLRN estimates that nearly 17 million people across India continue to live under the constant threat of eviction and displacement. Given the magnitude of this crisis, the organization has proposed several urgent recommendations to the central and state governments:
Immediate Moratorium on Evictions:HLRN calls for an immediate halt to all evictions, regardless of the reason, until due process is ensured and alternative housing is guaranteed.
Ensure Due Process and Consent: The organization stresses the importance of following due legal process, including obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of affected communities before initiating any eviction, relocation, or redevelopment projects. It recommends that government agencies adopt standard operating procedures based on the landmark Delhi High Court judgments and UN guidelines.
Prohibit Punitive Demolitions:HLRN warns against the misuse of demolitions as punitive actions by state authorities against vulnerable communities, urging the government to prevent such practices.
Provide Rehabilitation and Alternative Housing: It is critical to provide immediate rehabilitation and alternative housing to all displaced families, particularly those who have been waiting for resettlement for years. Justice delayed is justice denied, and delays in resettlement only exacerbate the suffering of displaced communities.
Recognize Informal Settlements: The report recommends that informal settlements be recognized as legitimate housing clusters. Labelling them as ‘illegal’ or as ‘encroachments’ leads to their residents being unfairly targeted for evictions.
Uphold Housing Rights: Lastly, HLRN calls on the government to recognize and protect the right to adequate housing and land for all urban and rural communities, particularly those who have been historically marginalized.
The HLRN’s report lays bare the harsh reality of forced evictions in India and their devastating impact on marginalized communities. As the country grapples with a worsening eviction crisis, it is imperative for the government to address the human rights violations inherent in these evictions. With millions more living under the constant threat of displacement, urgent action is needed to ensure that the right to adequate housing is respected, and that those affected by demolitions are provided with the rehabilitation they deserve. Without such measures, the cycle of homelessness, landlessness, and poverty will continue to deepen across India.