Around 1,800 occupants in Ali village, South Delhi, have been served notices to vacate homes and shops built on 8.48 acres of Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department land, with police-assisted eviction scheduled for 27 September if the deadline is not followed.
Notices issued through a court-appointed bailiff have been pasted on about 1,500 houses and shops on both sides of Pushta Road between Ali Chowk and Shiv Temple, as well as around 300 houses in Peer Mohalla, according to a report by Jagran. Residents have been given until 26 September to remove their belongings and vacate the premises.
After the deadline, the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department is expected to take possession of the land with police assistance. The reported action covers a settlement in the Jamia-Okhla area that authorities describe as having come up through encroachment on land controlled by the department.
The dispute has a long legal and administrative history. After Delhi became a Union Territory, irrigation and flood-control land connected to the Yamuna was transferred to the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department, according to the report. Encroachments later developed on parts of the land. A court ruling in 2002 went in favour of the department, while some portions were cleared in 2004. Action did not proceed in areas with established habitation.
Some occupants later approached the Delhi High Court, arguing that they possessed documents including Aadhaar cards, voter identity cards and electricity and water bills. They also claimed that the disputed land formed part of the old village boundary and Lal Dora area. The High Court, however, ruled in favour of the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department last year, according to the report.
The issue gained renewed attention after the names of people occupying the land were reportedly found in voter lists. The matter also drew political opposition, after which the Uttar Pradesh government appointed Executive Engineer B.K. Singh as nodal officer. The department has since coordinated with the court-appointed bailiff on the proposed clearance.
The notices have placed homes, shops and household belongings under an immediate deadline, while the department’s stated objective is to recover land that it says falls within its jurisdiction. The next operational step is scheduled for 27 September, when police-assisted clearance may begin if occupants have not vacated voluntarily.
