Shimla Nagarik Sabha Protests Against Demolition Notices Issued by Municipal Corporation

A delegation from the Shimla Nagarik Sabha met the Additional Commissioner of the Shimla Municipal Corporation to oppose the demolition notices being issued against slum dwellings in the city. They demanded an immediate halt to such actions. The Additional Commissioner assured full commitment to the social security of the underprivileged. The Nagarik Sabha warned that if any attempt is made to demolish these shelters, they will take to the streets in protest against the Municipal Corporation.

The delegation included Vijender Mehra, Jagat Ram, Falma Chauhan, Vivek Kashyap, Kuldeep Dogra, Anil Thakur, Dinit Denta, Sunny Sikta, Kamal Dharon Sharma, Ram Prakash, Pratap Chauhan, Kapil Negi, Prakash, Ratti Ram, Prem, Shankar, Subhash, Bobby, Rajendra, and many others.

Nagarik Sabha co-conveners Vijender Mehra, Falma Chauhan, Balak Ram, and Vivek Kashyap stated that, similar to the evictions and sealings being carried out by the Forest Department in the state, the Shimla Municipal Corporation is attempting to displace the urban poor by demolishing their shelters. In this context, a house in Kuftadhar was demolished three days ago. A few months ago, an attempt was made to demolish slums in Baluganj. Recently, notices and warrants were issued for demolishing slums in Downdale, but strong public opposition thwarted the move. An advance notice has been issued for the demolition of 42 slums on April 8. Overall, nearly 3,300 slum dwellings in Shimla city face the threat of demolition.

The Sabha has demanded that the slums of thousands of poor residents in Shimla be regularized and the demolition notices withdrawn. They also called for allotting two biswas of land to landless families and urged the state government to formulate a concrete policy for the regularization of slums while providing relief to those residing in them.