The demolition of over 200 homes in North Delhi’s Khyber Pass colony in July 2024 has created an atmosphere of fear and anxiety for residents of other Pakistan Displaced People (PDP) colonies who apprehend a similar fate. The 32-acre stretch of land in Khyber Pass Colony near Civil Lines is claimed by the Land and Development Office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
Ratan Lal Thakur, 60, a resident of Prem Nagar in Northwest Delhi, is one of the many persons living in similar unregulated colonies and is now anxious about the security of his home. Situated in Nangloi, Prem Nagar is one of the PDP colonies that were established to rehabilitate the refugees who came to India post partition. By December 1950, the Ministry of Rehabilitation had built around 21 such colonies, which have since grown to around 40 across Delhi.
As per the records of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Prem Nagar Colony was created in 1965. Housing more than 2000 people who are mostly daily wagers, the locality lacks basic amenities such as a dispensary, school, public park, piped water supply, proper sewerage among others. Despite this, the residents claim that they have been paying their house taxes and other bills regularly. In 2004, a Residents Welfare Association (RWA) was formed in Prem Nagar, and the members applied for regularisation, but their request is still pending.
However, the RWA remains optimistic. Ramesh Chandra, the general secretary of RWA Prem Nagar, assured, “I am well aware of the incident that took place in the Khyber Pass Colony, but any such activity will not take place here because we have not received any such notice from MCD or any other authority.”
A sense of uncertainty is persistent in other unregulated PDP colonies as well. Established in 1961, Buland Masjid Colony in Shastri Park Extension is one such example. Saadiq Hussain, 79, is among those families who relocated here from Kingsway Camp after partition. “I grew up in these streets, I spent my entire childhood here,” said Hussain. Referring to a potential demolition, Hussain said, “It would be very unfortunate if such an incident occurs, and relocation at my age would be very difficult, both physically and mentally.”
In a similar case, the RWA of Buland Masjid Colony, constituted in 1999 has not seen any progress on the regularisation status. Nazeer Ahmed, general secretary of Buland Masjid Colony RWA, expressed his concern, “Every election, many candidates from different parties come and promise different facilities, but not even a simple request of colony regularisation has been accepted till date.”
Speaking on demolition, Yugal Kishore, a resident of Sadh Nagar, Palam Colony, said that the residents in the colony will not let any bulldozer enter the area. “They can do whatever they want, we will not let them move our homes even by an inch,” Kishore added.
Sadh Nagar—another unregulated PDP colony created in 1970—also has a RWA in place but one that remains inefficient according to the residents.
“RWA always presents a very good picture of the colony whenever the members are elected, but the real picture is something else,” a resident, Prakash Chand complains. Other residents also cited RWA’s failure to provide essential amenities like a dispensary, school, park, electricity supply, etc.
However, RWA denied these allegations and assured that the grievances of residents are heard on a regular basis.
