How Authorities Went Back on Their Own Assurances in the Violent Jadavpur Bulldozer Drive |
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Kolkata: Very early on June 8, authorities unleashed an aggressive anti-encroachment drive upon traders and residents who had shops and were living in the land adjoining South Kolkata’s Jadavpur Railway Station.
The exercise, which spilled into the early hours of June 8 was a joint operation by the Eastern Railway authorities, Kolkata Police, West Bengal Police (GRP), and the Central Reserve Police Forces. Around 35-40 structures abutting the station were razed. They included makeshift homes and shops. It saw chaos, physical violence, and arrests of protesters. But most crucially, for protesters, traders, and residents alike, it was the result of a number of betrayals.
The site of the demolition at Jadavpur station. Photo: Anwesha Banerjee.
The demolition comes amidst widespread allegations of administrative betrayal, with hawker unions stating they had been given verbal assurances on June 2, by the Railway authorities, that no evictions would occur until late June.
State general secretary of the Left youth body Students’ Federation of India Srijan Bhattacharya, who was detained while opposing the action on June 8, told The Wire, “On June 2, we showed authorities the Calcutta high court verdict of 1988 against the forceful eviction of the encroachments from the Railway lands and stations without proper rehabilitation. The Railway officials asked for the certified copy of the order. It was then not available with us. Calcutta high court was to re-open on June 8, after the summer vacation. As acquiring a certified copy is time consuming, we negotiated with the Railway authorities and they agreed not to pause the demolition drive till June 29.”
In 1988, the Supreme Court of India in its historic verdict in Sodan Singh vs New Delhi Municipal Committee recognised that the right to carry on trade or business on street pavements is a fundamental right guaranteed under Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution, provided it does not cause a nuisance or obstruct the public’s right of passage.
This is not the only relevant order in this regard. In Gainda Ram v. Municipal Corporation of Delhi in 2014 the Supreme Court ruled that the right to hawk is a fundamental right that must be regulated by a comprehensive law, effectively validating the enactment of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014. The order upheld mandatory non-eviction prior to rehabilitation, declaring that no vendor could be evicted or relocated until a city-wide survey was completed and formal vending certificates/designated zones were issued under the new Act.
These two orders have been frequently cited by protesters – mainly Left-led and Congress groups – as the month-old Bharatiya Janata Party government carries out demolition drives across railway stations in and around Kolkata.
Also read: As the BJP Government Bulldozes Bengal’s Hawkers, Resistance Sprouts From a Likely Quarter
After the Sunday demolition, a plea has been filed by traders who operated from Jadavpur, citing the........