'RRTS crucial infra project, in public interest': Delhi HC refuses to stop demolition

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has refused to intervene in the demolition of kiosks near Namo Bharat Metro Rail Station in capital's Sarai Kale Khan and said the Regional Rapid Transit System line was a crucial project.

The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut (Regional Rapid Transit System) RRTS corridor, stretching over 82 kilometer, is expected to shrink travel time between Delhi and Meerut to less than an hour.

A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta observed the "tehbazari" certificate for the shops, which was issued in January 2018, was temporary in nature and asked the kiosk owners to take out their belongings.

The court was dealing with a petition filed by two stall occupiers seeking a stay on demolition activity at the tehbazari site at Ustad Hafiz Ali Khan Sahib Marg in Sarai Kale Khan.

The tehbazari certificate is a permit issued by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) or the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) allowing a street vendor to operate a small business or stall in a designated public area.

"The development work is being carried out in the vicinity of the shop itself and in fact, the kiosks of the petitioners would be coming in the way of the development. The RRTS line is a crucial infrastructure project, which is being undertaken by NCRTC (National Capital Region Transport Corporation)," said the court in a judgement passed on May 8.

The bench added, "Considering the fact that the tehbazari itself is temporary and the RRTS project is a project in public interest, the petitioners cannot be seen to argue that they cannot be dispossessed." The court said the petitioners' plea for an alternative site should be considered and decided by the authorities within two months.

The petitioners said the plea was filed on behalf of the stall occupiers of the tehbazari sites allotted to them by the MCD.

They claimed the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) started demolishing their kiosks near the station of Namo Bharat Metro Rail services on May 6, giving them two days to remove their belongings.

It was argued that the demolition was without prior notice and against the principles of natural justice.

While the counsel for MCD said the tehbazari was temporary in nature, the NCRTC's lawyer submitted that the development of the Namo Bharat Metro Rail Station was being carried out as part of the RRTS line, being constructed under the orders of the Supreme Court.

The NCRTC's counsel said the demolition of the petitioners' kiosks was necessary to undertake the further redevelopmentNa process.