New Delhi: Around 7.4 lakh people were forcefully evicted from their homes across rural and urban India by state authorities – at local, state and central levels – in 2022 and 2023, a new report says.During the same period, state authorities demolished over 1.53 lakh homes across the country, according to the report released by advocacy group Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN).Since the figures only reflect cases documented by HLRN through primary and secondary data collection in 23 states and four union territories, it estimates that the actual number of persons evicted or displaced across India in this period is likely to be much higher.The HLRN also noted that in “nearly all of the documented cases of forced eviction, state authorities did not follow due process” established by national and international human rights standards and in fact, resulted in multiple and gross human rights violations.“Demolition drives, in many instances, were carried out with a level of severity and brutality, surpassing that of previous years,” the report said.The report ‘Forced Evictions in India 2022 and 2023’ also states that there has been an increase in the number of forced evictions through court orders and their subsequent implementation by state authorities. The HLRN uses the definition of ‘forced eviction’ as provided by the General Comment 7 (1997) of the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. According to that, a forced eviction is the “permanent or temporary removal against the will of individuals, families or communities from their homes or land, which they occupy, without the provision of, and access to, appropriate forms of legal or other protection.”Also read: ‘Muslims Targeted in 128 Demolitions, 617 People Affected’: Amnesty Reports on Bulldozer ActionIn 2022 and 2023, around 3 lakh people were evicted due to court orders, the HLRN found. In 2022, court orders resulted in the eviction of over 33,360 persons while in 2023 this figure nearly touched 2.6 lakh.In the past, courts have constructively interpreted the law to provide relief in cases of housing rights violations, despite the absence of a statute, with the Supreme Court and several state high courts consistently affirming the right to housing or shelter as an inherent component of the fundamental right to life, the HLRN said.The landmark judgments in Sudama Singh v. Government of Delhi (2010) and Ajay Maken v. Union of India (2019) “place the duty on state authorities to conduct a survey and provide rehabilitation before carrying out any forcible act of eviction.” However, the HLRN report notes, recent court orders related to evictions, particularly in Delhi, have deviated from these precedents.According to the report, there were around 178 incidents of demolitions recorded in the country, across rural and urban areas, in 2022, resulting in the demolition of 46,371 houses and forced eviction of 2.3 lakh persons. In 2023, the figures jumped exponentially as the HLRN documented 146 cases of demolitions, resulting in the demolition of 107, 499 homes and the forced eviction of at least 5.15 lakh persons.The numbers for 2023 are the highest recorded figure in the last seven years.The HLRN calculated that at least 294 houses were destroyed daily and 58 people evicted every hour in 2023, while in 2022 at least 129 houses were destroyed daily and 25 people evicted every hour. From 2017 to 2023, over 1.68 million people were evicted from their homes and around 17 million people live under the threat of eviction and displacement, the HLRN report says.The major demolition drives that affected large groups of people included the ones in Tughlakabad (Delhi), Rama Pir No Tekro (Ahmedabad) and Faizabad—Naya Ghat (Ayodhya). Forced evictions of the urban and rural poor occurred in megacities, smaller cities, towns and villages, with Gurgaon, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Ayodhya, Surat and Navi Mumbai among those heavily affected.Also read: The Unconstitutionality of ‘Bulldozer Justice’According to the HLRN, 59% or the maximum number of people evicted in the last two years were evicted under the guise of ‘slum or land clearance’ or ‘encroachment removal’ or ‘city beautification’ drives. More than 2.9 lakh persons were evicted like this in 2023 and over 1.43 lakh in 2022.“Forced evictions were also carried out for a range of other reasons, including infrastructure and ostensible ‘development’ projects, including ‘smart city’ projects; environmental projects, forest protection, and wildlife conservation; ‘disaster management’ efforts, among other reasons,” the HLRN said.In most cases of forced evictions, the affected persons and communities are not provided with the reason for their eviction or demolition of their homes. However, based on available data, the report identifies five broad categories under which forced evictions took place.After slum clearance, infrastructure and ostensible development projects, including road widening, highway expansion, bridge construction and ‘smart city’ projects contributed to 35% of the affected persons. Another 4.7% were attributed to environmental projects, forest protection and wildlife conservation. The remaining were attributed to disaster management efforts, tourism projects, and government-constructed low-income housing units being declared as ‘unsafe’ for living.The report also notes that several incidents of evictions were “seemingly carried out as a ‘punitive measure’,” for instance Khargone (Madhya Pradesh), Prayagraj and Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Nuh (Haryana) and Jahangirpuri (Delhi).In the last two years, the National Capital Territory of Delhi recorded the most incidents of evictions, with around 2.8 lakh persons evicted there in 2023 alone.The question of resettlement of the displaced and evicted remains a major concern. According to the HLRN, out of the total 324 instances of forced evictions recorded in 2023 and 2022, information on resettlement was available only for 122 cases. Among these, the state offered some form of resettlement or alternative housing in only 25 of the affected sites (20.5% of total instances); partial resettlement in seven sites (1.6 %) and monetary compensation in only seven sites (5.7%).“This implies that, in 72% of instances, where information is available, the state failed to resettle or rehabilitate affected persons,” the HLRN said.
