If you were to stand on the balcony of your posh high-rise apartment in any of the 7X sectors, you would notice breathtaking views of the nearby surroundings; green canopy of trees, vast skies stretching for miles and the hustle and bustle of the city below. But at some places, you would also notice a cluster of makeshift shanties with tarps for roofs and wood and tin sheets for walls. While some lucky ones can afford brick walls, some don’t even have the luxury of a proper door and make do with a shabby curtain. All in all, not a pleasant sight you would say. After all, people who have spent crores to buy their houses would certainly not like to look at a bunch of untidy shanties all day. But these shabby and dilapidated shanties are homes to a large number of people.
Recently a team from Noida Authority carried out a demolition drive in one such cluster located in sector 78. The team was equipped with bulldozers and trucks to raze these shanties to the ground and free the land that belonged to the Noida Authority. Upon reaching the spot the team faced heavy opposition from the people living there; after all who wouldn’t if someone came to break into their homes irrespective of their legal status? The officials of the Noida Authority had to call the police to get the situation under control. The officials from Noida Authority said that these people have been given notices to vacate the place for about three months but they have not complied with the notices and hence the team was forced to take the demolition route. The team did manage to raze about ten shanties before they were met with pleading eyes of people who requested some more time to vacate their “homes”. The team, on humanitarian grounds, gave the people one week to vacate the place.
The above incident raises many questions, some of which are hard-hitting. There is a famous dialogue from a Bollywood movie that goes “ kaun hain yeh log, kahan se aate hain hamare sheher ki khoobsoorti par batta lagane?”. To answer the question, these people are the very same people who visit our posh societies and houses to earn their livelihood. Many of our maids, gardeners, guards, sweepers etc. come from these shanties. They are the very same people without whom we become handicapped. So is it right for them to encroach on public land and build their small homes? No, of course not but what other option do they have? It’s not like they can afford to rent an apartment. Even renting a small room is a dream for many. Yes, some can afford to live in a proper place but still choose to live” illegally” to save money, but most are hand to mouth. So what is the solution to this issue? The thousands of flats indeed require a workforce of thousands and these thousands require houses. The Authorities and Governments should come up with out-of-the-box solutions like building housing colonies in small clusters and providing these people with cheap accommodation on a rental basis. Only an inclusive approach will help in solving the issue or else the problem will keep shifting from one place to another.
