BERHAMPUR: Slum dwellers on Monday staged a demonstration in front of Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) demanding rehabilitation before eviction. The slum dwellers under the banner of Basti Basindha Surakshya Manch also submitted a memorandum to the BeMC commissioner.
Earlier, different courts directed state governments to rehabilitate slum dwellers before evicting them, said convener of the manch Pitabash Panda.
“Instead of evicting people, who live on government land for years, we should provide land patta (record of rights) to them. They can also be provided houses under PMAY,” he said.
The manch criticized BeMC’s step to evict some families from Phulasundari Street on July 20 without rehabilitating them and issue notices to others urging them to vacate the land. “Fifteen families, who have been evicted, are now taking shelter in a nearby school,” alleged Panda.
Sources said 68 families living near a water body at Phulasundari Street were evicted by the civic body following a directive from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to make the water body encroachment-free on July 20. Of them, 53 families have been provided houses under Prime Minister Awas Yojana (PMAY) at Somanath Nagar. Other 15 families would be rehabilitated at Uttar Mukhi street under PMAY,” BeMC sources said.
The manch has also demanded action against the builders and influential persons, who constructed the buildings and apartments by encroaching upon the roads and drains.
