'SC acknowledgement that we were wronged more satisfying than 10 lakh compensation'

Prayagraj: The acknowledgment by the Supreme Court that we were wronged is more satisfying than Rs 10 lakh compensation it asked Allahabad Development Authority to pay, say owners of the houses which were razed as part of anti-encroachment drive in March 2021.

On March 7, 2021, a cavalcade of PDA, officials of the district administration, and police personnel reached plot number 19 of the Lukarganj area — a site just opposite the already demolished building which was once the office of the slain mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, and demolished the properties.

It was Nazul land in the govt record on which around 10 families used to live. Among them were former head of the department of Urdu and Persian of Allahabad University, Prof Ali Ahmed Fatmi, lawyer Zulfiquar Haider, Baby Maimuna, Shahnaz Parveen, Vijay Kumar Singh, and others. The action started at around 10 am, razing the houses of the people named above.

"Hamara to sab kuch ujad gaya, kitaab, ashiyana aur biwi," (I have lost everything, my library, house, and wife). I am thankful that at least now the apex court has called something ‘wrong' as wrong," Prof Fatmi told TOI. In its order early this week, the SC benc of Justice Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said: "The manner in which the demolition has taken place shocks our conscience. Residences of the appellants have been high-handedly demolished. There is something called the right to shelter, due process of law."

Prof Fatmi recollects that on March 6, 2021, he was in Jamshedpur to attend a family function when his daughter Nayala called, informing him that a notice had been served by the PDA. "It was ‘thrown' by someone from the PDA inside my house telling us that the house would be demolished the next day (March 7). I hired a taxi and rushed back, and some of us approached Allahabad high court, but no relief was given, and on March 7 (a Sunday), bulldozers demolished the houses," said Prof Fatmi.

"I lost my wife, who died in September the same year, my house, in which I was staying since 1988, and the most shocking was my ‘prized' library which had books, some even rare, which I collected all my life," recollects Prof Fatmi. Thankfully, the PDA did give me a few precious hours to remove my belongings, including the books which were ‘stuffed' in gunny bags, he added.

On the apex court's decision, he said, "It is less of the monetary compensation but more of my ‘rightful win' as ‘kissi ne galat ko galat to kaha' (at least someone has called wrong as wrong)," he added.

Vijay Kumar Singh had purchased the house just nine months ago. "I used to live in a rented house nearby and purchased the constructed house, but it was demolished, and now I have moved back to another rented house, somehow managing my responsibilities through a medical store." If our house was wrongfully built on Nazul land, why and how was the registry done, and how can the govt accept the stamp duty of an ‘illegal' house, he questioned. The compensation of Rs 10 lakh each is very little in that way, but at least our stand has been vindicated, he added.

Fatmi also said that the process of serving the notice was not proper. The notice was served on March 6 evening, whereas it was dated March 1. This was the first notice given to us, and within 24 hours, our life was turned upside down, he said.

A PDA official, who was involved in the drive, told TOI, "The entire land was Nazul land, and the lease had expired. The house owners were given notice in January 2021 (something which the house owners deny), but no one vacated the house. The Nazul land cannot be transferred or sold to anyone else, but in this case, Atiq and his henchmen sold the land by carving out plots."

The govt had announced making a storehouse of EVM machines at plot 19 and 65 (adjacent to it), which was also vacated from the clutches of Atiq, he added.

Prof Fatmi refrained from talking about the legal aspects of the case, maintaining that he was yet to get a copy of the court order and discuss it with his lawyer.

PDA secretary Ajeet Singh, said, "We respect the decision of the apex court and will abide by it, but anything further can be said only after getting the order of the Supreme Court in our hand."