At least 800 families in Delhi's Muslimdominated Batla House were rendered homeless after a slum clearance drive by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA). The residents of Batla House are mostly domestic and daily wage workers and are among the worst hit since the COVID19 pandemic began. The demolition drive started on September 22, 2020. The residents claim that no notice was served and that no alternate site was designated for their rehabilitation. Officials also demolished a toilet block in the area. The sudden eviction left several people injured in the debris of demolition. Some also lost their livelihood. Mohammad Javed, 32, a rickshaw puller and father of five, told the media: My rickshaw was broken, and our household items are gone. We were suffering during the lockdown but at least we had a roof over our heads. There is no food, no clothes, no electricity or water now. At night we deal with the mosquitoes and during the day, we suffer under the sun. The DDA demolished the slums citing the National Green Tribunals law against construction on river embankments. It claimed that the land falls in the Yamuna floodplains and is owned by the DDA, hence the residents of Batla House are encroachers. While DDA officials allege that the slum has come up during the pandemic, the residents claim to have been living in the area for many years. The Human Rights Law Network (HRLN) petitioned the Delhi high court on behalf of two residents, and the court heard the matter on September 25, 2020. HRLN successfully persuaded the court to order a fiveday stay on the demolition in order to approach the division bench for clarification and rehabilitation of the slum dwellers. On January 19, 2021, over 200 slum dwellers from the Dhobighat area (one part of the demolished area) marched to the office of Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan demanding alternate land close to the demolition site. They were able to submit their memorandum of demands but no action has been taken yet.