Publication reveals human rights violations of the resettlement in three Indian cities

Housing and Land Rights Network (HLRN), in collaboration with its partners, launched a publication titled "Forced to the Fringes: Disasters of ‘Resettlement’ in India", which consists of a  human rights assessment of three large resettlement sites: Savda Ghevra, Delhi; Kannagi Nagar, Chennai; and, Vashi Naka, Mumbai. The publication was released at a press conference in Delhi by affected persons, authors of the study, independent experts, academics, and human rights defenders from different parts of the country. 

The study finds that the eviction and relocation process in Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi, was carried out without adherence to due process and in contravention of international norms, including the UN Basic Principles and Guidelines on Development-based Evictions and Displacement. No investigation, however, has been initiated against any of the state officials responsible for acts of demolition, force, violence and destruction.

For this study, HLRN collaborated with Information and Resource Centre for the Deprived Urban Communities (IRCDUC) in Chennai; Youth for Unity and Voluntary Action (YUVA) in Mumbai; and, Society for Participatory Integrated Development (SPID) in Delhi. The study uses the human rights  framework to analyse housing and living conditions in the resettlement sites as well as the eviction process that preceded relocation of affected families in the three cities.