Chandigarh: Inmates of erstwhile Cheshire Home get ‘eviction’ notice

Chandigarh, January 9

The Administration has issued a show-cause notice to the inmates of erstwhile Cheshire Home along with other physically challenged inmates, asking them as to why they should not be evicted from the premises, under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971.

The inmates, including a team of wheelchair cricketers, are living at House No. 341, Sector 21-A. The notice issued by the SDM (East) on behalf of the Social Welfare Department has named 25 inmates. “These men and women, born physically challenged to various degrees, and hailing from the weaker sections of society, were residents of Cheshire Home in 2015, then situated in Sector 15. They were shifted to the present premises in Sector 21-A with the consent of the Administration where they are being taken care of,” said Sharmita Bhinder, founder of Empower NGO, which has been taking up the cause of the inmates.

She claimed, “The stringent Act has been applied and they are being called illegal occupants and encroachers whereas the department is fully aware of their presence. It has not provided any assistance in arranging permanent residence for them. The notice needs to be withdrawn. Where will these inmates go in such harsh cold weather?”