Governments demolished 36,486 houses in 2021 – meaning at least 100 homes were destroyed every day. In other words, at least 567 were evicted every day or 24 people lost their homes every hour. https://thewire.in/rights/demolition-livelihood-wreck-punitive-measure-hlrn-report
The latest report of the Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN) on forced evictions in India has pointed to the new disturbing trend of “demolitions as a punitive measure” by various state governments and noted that these “arbitrary acts” of demolishing of homes and structures of minority communities have compounded the vulnerabilities of women, children, older persons, and persons with disabilities.
In the preface to the report, executive director of HLRN Enakshi Ganguly wrote that it was “unfortunate that over the years, this situation has only worsened and the magnitude of people displaced has increased despite the intervening pandemic.”
She added that the report also encapsulates the major evictions that were carried out in 2022 (January to July) and “highlights a worrying trend of state demolishing homes as a punitive measure, violating all due process norms and established human rights procedures”.
By WIRE staff
23/09/2022
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