Proof of eligibility under govt rehab schemes must: HC

Demonstrable evidence of eligibility is a must while invoking rights under government rehabilitation schemes, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear while dismissing a plea against eviction by dwellers of Sanjay Colony.

The petitioner-residents had claimed that they were entitled to be rehabilitated before being dispossessed of their tenements/jhuggis by the UT Administration.

A day before the demolition of the colony in the Industrial Area, Phase 1, a Division Bench dismissed their petition challenging eviction notices issued by the UT Administration, holding that they failed to substantiate claims of long-term residence or eligibility for rehabilitation under government schemes.

The order passed on April 22 was available today, while the colony was demolished on April 23.

The Division Bench of Justice Sudhir Singh and Justice Alok Jain ruled that the writ petition filed by the jhuggi dwellers, seeking to quash the impugned notice, lacked merit, as the petitioners did not furnish any documentary proof to support their assertion that they had been residing in the colony for over 30 years.

The petitioners’ counsel, during the course of hearing, had submitted that the Chandigarh Administration’s action to evict the petitioners without prior rehabilitation was illegal and in violation of their right to shelter. They contended that similarly placed residents of other colonies had been allotted dwelling units by the Administration, but the petitioners had been left out without justification.

It was further argued that the Affordable Rental Housing Complex (ARHC) scheme, a Central government initiative for urban poor, mandated rehabilitation prior to dispossession. The petitioners also expressed urgency by pointing out that the authorities intended to evict them the following morning, causing potential irreparable harm.

Countering the submissions, senior standing counsel for the UT Administration and senior advocate Amit Jhanji with standing counsel Sumeet Jain pointed out that three surveys had been carried out in connection with the rehabilitation of jhuggi dwellers in Chandigarh. The petitioners’ names did not figure in any of them. It was also submitted that the petitioners never came forward to submit claims or objections under the rehabilitation schemes notified from time to time.

Jhanji further informed the Bench that the impugned notice was issued pursuant to a speaking order passed in compliance with a judgment of a co-ordinate Bench of the High Court. Adequate opportunity had been afforded to all affected persons before the final decision was taken.

“We find that the petitioners have not attached any document with the writ petition, substantiating the claim that they had been residing in Sanjay Colony for the past 30 years. He (the counsel) could also not dispute that the names of the petitioners did not figure in any of the surveys conducted by the respondents pursuant to various schemes launched by the government from time to time for rehabilitation of the jhuggi dwellers,” the Bench observed.