India, the wave of evictions: 740 thousand sent from their homes in the last two years and the government has offered no resettlement or compensation

NEW DELHI (AsiaNews) – Between 2022 and 2023, at least 740,000 people were evicted from their homes across India. One states it relationship published by Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN), underlining that in the same period the houses demolished by the authorities were at least 153 thousand. But the numbers, explains the Organization, could be much higher, because the proposed cases include only those documented by the HLRN itself. From 2017 to 2023, more than 1.68 million people were evicted, and approximately 17 million people are still threatened by the possibility of displacement today.

What is theHousing and Land Rights Network. It works for the recognition, defense, promotion and concrete enforcement of rights to adequate housing and land. Therefore, the conquest of a safe place for all individuals and communities, especially the most marginalized ones, to live in peace and dignity.

The frequent violations of human rights. In the vast majority of forced evictions, authorities have failed to follow national and international standards in recent years, effectively committing a series of human rights violations. “The demolition operations, in many cases, were carried out with a level of severity and brutality, higher than that of previous years”, we read in the report, which in reference to forced evictions used the internationally recognized definition, i.e. “the permanent or temporary removal against the will of individuals, families or communities from their homes or the lands they occupy, without access to adequate forms of legal or other protection”.

The absence of government measures. According to HLRN, Indian courts in the past have constructively interpreted the law in responding to housing violations. In fact, local jurisprudence imposes “on state authorities the duty to conduct an investigation and provide assistance before carrying out any act of forced eviction”. But, in 2023 in particular, evictions have deviated from this practice.

Evictions and home demolitions. In two years almost 300 thousand people were evicted following a court order, but with big differences between one year and the next: in 2022 at least 33,360 people received an eviction order, while in 2023 they rose to 260 thousand . In more general terms, in 2022, 46,371 homes were demolished and 230,000 people evicted. Figures that more than doubled the following year: 107,499 homes demolished and 51,500 people evicted. The 2023 numbers are the highest ever recorded in the last seven years, HLRN further highlights.

The pretext of land reclamation. In the majority of cases (59%), the pretexts used were “slum or land reclamation”, “removal due to invasion” or “city beautification”. More than 290,000 people were evicted for these reasons in 2023, even though, in most cases, the affected individuals and communities were not told the reason for the eviction.

The other reasons for the repressive measures. The report also identified other reasons that led to the evictions: after the dismantling of the slums, the implementation of infrastructure projects (road expansion, bridge construction and more) contributed 35%, while another 4.7% was been determined by environmental reasons, such as forest protection and wildlife conservation. The other cases of demolition were decisive for improving emergency management, to make room for tourism projects or to eliminate housing units considered “unsafe”.

But there are also punitive reasons. In some regions, however, the evictions were “apparently carried out as a ‘punitive measure,’” the report notes. The largest number of evictions occurred in the capital territories of Delhi, with 280,000 people evicted in 2023 alone.

The problem of relocations. And the resettlement of displaced persons remains a problem, for the HLRN: out of a total of 324 cases recorded in the two years examined, available information on the resettlement of people was found for only 122 episodes. Among these, the state offered some form of alternative housing in only 25 cases, partial resettlement in seven cases, and monetary compensation in another seven cases. “This means that in 72% of cases for which information is available, the state failed to resettle or reintegrate those affected,” the report states.