SDMC goes after 'encroachments' but will issue notices unlike North MCD

New Delhi: Days after the North MCD bulldozed the violence-struck Jahangirpuri, the South and East MCDs have too now decided to accelerate their plans to raze "illegal encroachment" — after letters from the Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta asking them to bulldoze structures of "illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas". Significantly, the MCDs have said that they have launched an investigation into illegal encroachment in areas like Okhla, Shaheen Bagh and Seelampur.

After the BJP threw up the "Bangladeshi and Rohingyas" narrative for the Jahangirpuri violence, Gupta has written to all three MCDs asking for them to bulldoze their homes. While the North MCD had razed a dozen structures in Jahangirpuri before the SC stopped them, now South and East MCDs are following suit. To assure residents, officials within the civic body have insisted that they will not be taking action against any one community, religion, caste, nationality and only those who have illegally occupied government land. SDMC Standing Committee Chairman Col BK Oberoi stated, "We do not care about all that, we only care about the government land that is being occupied and will take action only on that basis."

But in an attempt to not make the mistake the North MCD made — the South civic body said that it will be sending notices to all illegal occupants they identify before taking any action against them or their properties. Similarly, East MCD Mayor Shyam Sundar Aggarwal claimed that they are only undertaking routine procedures and nothing else. East MCD took action against 'illegal encroachment" in areas like IP Extension, Patparganj, Pandav Nagar, Vinod Nagar, Shakarpur, Ganeshnagar, Rajgarh Colony, Seelampur and Ambedkar Park on Monday.

During the drives, illegally parked carts and other items on the roads were confiscated as per rules. North MCD also took action against encroachment in Karol Bagh on Monday. Officials added that these are regular small drives and do not require much. However, no locations that require "bulldozers" have been identified by the civic body yet. But as the Supreme Court holds the North MCD off from Jahangirpuri, a North MCD official said, "We have to finish unfinished business," adding they will wait for the SC to decide it first.