Can't defy court orders: CM amid criticism over demolition drives

AAP LEADERS VOW TO FIGHT FOR SLUM DWELLERS' RIGHTS

- OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday said the authorities cannot go against demolition orders issued by the courts and stressed that the displaced residents have been provided accommodation.

The remarks come amid criticism from the opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the razing of the Madrasi Camp slum cluster near Barapullah in south Delhi, and similar demolition drives in other parts of the city.

While the AAP has targeted Gupta, saying those evicted were provided houses lacking basic amenities in faraway Narela, party MP Sanjay Singh and Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj on Sunday visited the demolition site of the Madrasi Camp slum cluster, where they met with displaced residents, and intensified their attack on the BJP.

Attending an event to mark the construction of a Jan Sewa camp at a slum cluster in the Haiderpur area, Gupta told reporters, "In the last few days, demolition action has been taken by the authorities, like at the Madrasi camp where the court had given directions to remove the encroachment over the Barapullah drain, almost four times.