DDA to not carry out demolition drive in Majnu Ka Tila on weekend due to...

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) will not be carrying out the demolition drive against encroachment on the Yamuna flood plain near south of Majnu Ka Tila gurdwara on Saturday and Sunday, sources said.

No immediate reason was cited for this.    

DDA, in a public notice released on Thursday, said that it will undertake a demolition drive in the area on July 13 and 14.

Residents of Majnu Ka Tila, where Pakistani Hindus are staying, said they received the notice from the land-owning agency late Thursday evening.

In its notice, the DDA asked the residents to vacate the area by Friday.

The notice referred to the National Green Tribunal's April 3 order and the Delhi High Court's March 12 order behind the move.

"In the compliance of order, it is proposed to organise a demolition drive against the encroachment in the river Yamuna flood plain area near south of Gurudwara Majnu Ka Tila (Western Bank) on Saturday and Sunday," the DDA notice read.

The affected families can take temporary harbour at Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) shelters, it said.

"Hence, the residents of the area are hereby requested to vacate the area by July 12 otherwise they will be self-responsible for any loss due to demolition drive against the encroachment on July 13 or later," the notice stated.

In its order on April 3, the NGT had said that the status report filed by the DDA did not disclose any substantial effective steps by the agency for removing the encroachment from the area.

The NGT asked the agency to file a compliance report at least one week before the next date of hearing, which is July 15, by e-mail.

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, some refugees living in Majnu Ka Tila were given citizenship certificates under the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

(This story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from PTI)