Khori Gaon Jhuggi: The SC has allowed displaced residents to petition for temporary housing using their Aadhaar cards as proof

Khori Gaon Jhuggi: The SC has allowed displaced residents to petition for temporary housing using their Aadhaar cards as proof

However, the bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari clarified that this will only apply to provisional allotments and will not affect final allotments following the draw of lots.

On Friday, the Supreme Court ordered the Faridabad Municipal Corporation to consider petitions for interim allocation by displaced Khori gaon slum dwellers even if they do not have an Aadhaar card or a Parivaar Pehchan Patra (Municipal Corporation Faridabad v. Khori Gaon Residents Welfare Association).

However, the bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari clarified that this will only apply to provisional allotments and will not affect final allotments following the draw of lots.

“For the time being, we instruct the corporation to accept applications for provisional allotment using an Aadhaar card or a Parivar Pehchan Patra after verification. This will not confer any rights on such a person unless and until the person shows eligibility as required by the rehabilitation scheme. The top court ordered, “This remark is for interim purposes only and is subject to the result of pending procedures.”

Although Additional Advocate General Arun Bhardwaj representing the municipal corporation argued that Aadhaar could not be recognized, the Bench held that it should be used for the purposes of provisional allotment because the residents were having difficulty finding other papers.

Previously, the municipal corporation had filed a housing and rehabilitation policy titled “Housing Plan for Rehabilitation of Khori (Lakkarpur revenue estate) Jhuggi Dwellers sitting on land owned by Municipal Corporation, Faridabad” with the Supreme Court for the rehabilitation of people displaced by the demolition of Khori Gaon Jhuggis in Faridabad, Haryana.

According to the policy, qualified residents must apply for flats from the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad by October 15, 2021. Applications will be scrutinized until October 25, after which a final list of allottees will be released on October 27, and allotment letters will be sent out on November 15, 2021.

The policy was filed in a case on behalf of roughly 1.5 lakh people of the encroachment area who was demanding proper rehabilitation after their homes were razed after Supreme Court rulings.

The company was then instructed to provide provisional housing to residents of State flats after provisional scrutiny, which would be subject to final adjudication and a final draw of lots. The Court further declared that if an allottee is later proved to be not legitimate, he or she might be evicted with the use of police force if necessary.