DDA had demolished the Louis Welfare Progressive Association for the Blind on December 15. (Express photo by Praveen Khanna)
On a day the Rajya Sabha expressed concern over the forcible eviction of visually-impaired students during an anti-encroachment drive by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Centre said four blind students were rehabilitated in an adjoining school.
After BSP leader Satish Chandra Mishra raised the issue during question hour Thursday, Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, “These students had been rehabilitated in an adjoining school. This had been provided for but they were brought back. This took place on December 15. But, just when that issue was being discussed, it was reported in the newspapers on December 23. This is an illegal encroachment on DDA land and these four blind students were being used as ruse for those who were engaging in illegal activities in this school in order to lay claim to that property. So, it is not correct to say that they were displaced from there.”
The hostel, Louis Welfare Progressive Association of the Blind, has been running for the last 17 years. About 20 people, mostly students of Delhi University or the nearby Sarvodaya school, lived there.
Amid disruption by Congress leaders, the minister said, “After having been given notices… this had been done. But, then, publicity in a news report was created that day…”
The issue was also brought up before the Delhi High Court earlier this week, which said students cannot claim their right over government property and ordered the authorities to give them an alternate place to live in.
DDA vice-chairman Udai Pratap Singh said, “We stick to our stand that students will not be asked to leave the community hall till they are moved to a hostel for the visually impaired.”
The DDA has also held meetings with the social welfare department of the Delhi government, seeking space to rehabilitate the students. The students, however, are not ready to vacate the place. The court will hear the matter next on January 16. In its earlier hearing, the court had asked the DDA to submit its response over its decision to demolish the hostel.
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