Madhya Pradesh
Hasnat Nagar, Ahata Rustam Khan
,
Depot Basti
,
Bhopal
Published : 12 July, 2014   |   Last updated - 24 Jun, 2024
Municipal Corporation Demolishes Slum, Evicts Residents for Smart Road Project in Bhopal
Reported by
Arpit Deshmukh
Legal Review by
Anmol Gupta
Updated by
Anupa Kujur
230
Households affected
552
People Affected
2016
Year started
40
Land area affected
230
Households affected
552
People Affected
2016
Year started
40
Land area affected
Key Insights
Sector
Infrastructure
Reason/Cause of conflict
Roads
Conflict Status
Ongoing
Ended
Legal Status
Region Classification
Urban
Ended
1
Summary

As part of the Smart City project, the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 2016 conceived of a smart road project connecting Depot Square and Polytechnic Square in Bhopal City. The project involves a six-lane road with facilities such as cycle tracks, sensor poles, street lighting, underground water supply and wi-fi zone. The project aims to widen the road by 20 metres over a stretch of two kilometres, affecting 115 households. The land undergoing construction is disputed between the BMC and the residents of Ahata Rustam Khan, Hasanat Nagar and Pratap Nagar. The residents in other localities claim that the project does not involve a proper rehabilitation plan.
The road widening work began in 2016. In 2017, more than 30 families living in Depot Basti, a slum, were moved into a cluster of tin sheds. As the quarters came down, they lost employment that was convenient from their earlier homes. Two hundred other families from Banganga slums bordering the smart road lost their homes and were placed in transit homes. The families resented the move and claimed lack of information given to them about the transit homes.
In March 2017, the residents halted the demolition drive amidst stiff opposition. The residents of the Ahata Rustam Khan locality staged a protest blocking roads over the inauguration of the road project by Chief Minister Shivraj Si Chauhan in Bhopal.
As of December 2019, over 100 families were rehabilitated to a transit camp in Jawahar Chowk area. Another 500 families were served eviction notices in December 2019, of which 80 per cent were evicted.
A petitioner had approached the Madhya Pradesh high court stating that the road was built illegally by razing houses. The court ordered in 2020 that the affected people should be provided alternative housing.

2
Fact Sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand for rehabilitation

Refusal to give up land for the project

Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Region Classification

Urban

Type of Land

Common and Private

Non-Forest (Other than Grazing Land)

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)

Status of Project

Original Project Deadline

Whether the Project has been Delayed

Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users

Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict

Source/Reference

Total investment involved (in Crores):

28

Type of investment:

Cost of Project

Year of Estimation

2016

Page Number In Investment Document:

Has the Conflict Ended?

When did it end?

Why did the conflict end?

Author
Reported by
Arpit Deshmukh

Madhya Pradesh

Kumar Sambhav is a social entrepreneur and award-winning journalist, leading innovative research in accountability investigations. He is the founder of Land Conflict Watch and is currently working as India Research Lead with Princeton University’s Digital Witness Lab.

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Fact sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand for rehabilitation

Refusal to give up land for the project

Municipal Corporation Demolishes Slum, Evicts Residents for Smart Road Project in Bhopal

Reported by

Arpit Deshmukh

Legal Review by

Edited by

Updated by

Updated by

Published on

May 3, 2017

August 12, 2022

Edited on

May 3, 2017

Sector

Infrastructure

Reason or Cause of Conflict

Roads

Starting Year

2016

Land Area Affected (in Hectares)

40

ha

Households Affected by Conflict

230

People Affected by Conflict

552

State

Madhya Pradesh

Sector

Infrastructure

People Affected by Conflict

552

Households Affected by Conflict

230

Land Area Affected (in Hectares)

40

ha

Starting Year

2016

Location of Conflict

Depot Basti

Hasnat Nagar, Ahata Rustam Khan

Bhopal

Reason or Cause of Conflict

Roads

Land Conflict Summary

As part of the Smart City project, the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 2016 conceived of a smart road project connecting Depot Square and Polytechnic Square in Bhopal City. The project involves a six-lane road with facilities such as cycle tracks, sensor poles, street lighting, underground water supply and wi-fi zone. The project aims to widen the road by 20 metres over a stretch of two kilometres, affecting 115 households. The land undergoing construction is disputed between the BMC and the residents of Ahata Rustam Khan, Hasanat Nagar and Pratap Nagar. The residents in other localities claim that the project does not involve a proper rehabilitation plan.
The road widening work began in 2016. In 2017, more than 30 families living in Depot Basti, a slum, were moved into a cluster of tin sheds. As the quarters came down, they lost employment that was convenient from their earlier homes. Two hundred other families from Banganga slums bordering the smart road lost their homes and were placed in transit homes. The families resented the move and claimed lack of information given to them about the transit homes.
In March 2017, the residents halted the demolition drive amidst stiff opposition. The residents of the Ahata Rustam Khan locality staged a protest blocking roads over the inauguration of the road project by Chief Minister Shivraj Si Chauhan in Bhopal.
As of December 2019, over 100 families were rehabilitated to a transit camp in Jawahar Chowk area. Another 500 families were served eviction notices in December 2019, of which 80 per cent were evicted.
A petitioner had approached the Madhya Pradesh high court stating that the road was built illegally by razing houses. The court ordered in 2020 that the affected people should be provided alternative housing.

Fact Sheet

Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Demand for rehabilitation

Refusal to give up land for the project

Other Demand/Contention of the Affected Community

Region Classification

Urban

Type of Land

Common and Private

Type of Common Land

Non-Forest (Other than Grazing Land)

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Details of sources (names of accused, names and numbers of any lawyers, names of any police officers contacted)

Status of Project

Original Project Deadline

Whether the Project has been Delayed

Significance of Land to Land Owners/Users

Whether the project was stalled due to land conflict

Source/Reference

Total investment involved (in Crores):

28

Type of investment:

Cost of Project

Year of Estimation

2016

Page Number In Investment Document:

Has the Conflict Ended?

When did it end?

Why did the conflict end?

Legal Data

Categories of Legislations Involved in the Conflict

Land Acquisition Laws, Constitutional Law, Case Laws

Legislations/Policies Involved

Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013
Section 3(C)(ii) [defines affected family but the court and state refuse to see them as affected because they do not own the land]; Section 38 [This section states the procedure for giving compensation and R&R to affected family]; Section 27 [Amount of compensation is determined under this section]; Section 77 [Compensation is to be paid under this section]; Section 80 [Under this section, when compensation is not paid or if there is delay, interest becomes payable]; Second Schedule, Paragraphs 1, 4, 5, 6, 10 and 11 [Displaced families are entitled to either housing units or compensation, affected families are entitled to jobs, displaced families are entitled to a subsistence grant, transportation costs, a one-time resettlement allowance, and any stamp duty or registration charges for the new housing units are to be borne by the entity responsible for the displacement]
Madhya Pradesh Nagar Tatha Gram Nivesh Adhiniyam, 1973
Section 25 [The use and development of the plan should conform to the development plan of the city]
Constitution of India, 1950
Article 21 [Right to life violated due to dispossession of land and residence]; Article 300 (A) [violation of Right to Property]
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Whether claims/objections were made as per procedure in the relevant statute

What was the claim(s)/objection(s) raised by the community?

What was the Decision of the Concerned Government Department?

Legal Processes and Loopholes Enabling the Conflict:

Non-rehabilitation of displaced people

Forced evictions/dispossession of land

Non-implementation/violation of LARR Act

Land record discrepancies

Legal Status:

In Court

Status of Case In Court

Disposed

Whether any adjudicatory body was approached

No

Name of the adjudicatory body

Name(s) of the Court(s)

High Court of Madhya Pradesh

Case Number

W. P. No. 8830/2017

Main Reasoning/Decision of court

The petitioner filed a writ petition seeking court relief against the taking over of the land without following the acquisition procedure laid out in the LARR Act, 2013, and that they cannot be dispossessed of their land in possession. The court observed that the petitioner was in "adverse possession" of the land. And as per the LARR Act, the "state is the owner of the land in question and as an owner, the state will not acquire its own land". The court further observed that the petitioners are "unauthorised occupants over the land" and "the submission that they cannot be dispossessed of the land and the same has not been acquired in terms of the Act of 2013 is misconceived and is rejected".

Major Human Rights Violations Related to the Conflict:

No items found.

Reported Details of the Violation:

Date of Violation

Location of Violation

Additional Information

Government Departments Involved in the Conflict:

M.P. Government

PSUs Involved in the Conflict:

Bhopal Smart City Development Corporation

Did LCW Approach Government Authorities for Comments?

Name, Designation and Comment of the Government Authorities Approached

Corporate Parties Involved in the Conflict:

Bhopal Smart City Development Corporation

Did LCW Approach Corporate Parties for Comments?

Communities/Local Organisations in the Conflict:

Local residents, slum dwellers

Information on the use of criminal law

What was the action taken by the police?

How many people did the police detain or arrest?

What is the current status of the detained/accused persons?

Did the person face any violence while in police custody?

If any arrests took place, were the accused persons produced before a judge within 24 hours of the arrest?

If the accused was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours, or not produced at all, what were the reasons?

Legislation under which the accused was charged

Was the accused person informed of their right to legal representation? Did the accused person have access to legal aid?

In cases where the accused person approached the court for bail, was bail granted?

Why was bail granted or rejected? If granted, what were the bail conditions and quantum of bail?

Were there any other notable irregularities that took place, or other significant details?

Resources

Resources Related to Conflict

  • News Articles Related to the Conflict:
  • Documents Related to the Conflict:
  • Links Related to the Conflict:

Images

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