Vrindavan 2016.05.10 (VT): After the National Green Tribunal has come down hard on the injunction to vacate the encroaching structures and the various bureaucratic arms of the government are rallying around destroying them, the people residing there are indignant about the threat to their communities and are taking steps to fight a legal battle to save them.
Thousands of people leading their lives on the banks of Yamuna are appalled at what seems like the arbitrary actions of the government. The anxiety is palpable and they are bent on fighting for their rights at any cost. They are not championing the illegal encroachments, but they want to know how they are responsible and punishable when the government itself gave them the green light.
The floodplain colonists have formed a “Vrindavan Conservation Committee” which met on Sunday at Shyam Kuti. Mahant Ramdevanand Saraswati was made Committee President.
Ramdev Shastri, a resident of the floodplains and member of committee, has requested other residents to show unity for the battle against the Government bodies who want to raze the illegal colonies built there.
MLA Radhavallabh Mishra said that the local Government bodies had given permission to people to built their houses on these lands. Now that their houses have been built, the Government should provide alternative to it.
If the colonies built in the Yamuna floodplain are illegal, then the District Administration, Mathura-Vrindavan Development Authority and the Municipal Council are also partners in the crime.
Bobby Agarwal’s house on the Parikrama Marg is still under construction. Needless to say, he is very disturbed to hear the administration’s proclamation. He says, “The NGT has been making a lot of noise about this for some time now. But despite that, he was able to register his property in February this year. Why have they set a circle rate for the land if it is illegal to build there?”
Bobby is not the only one asking these questions. There are more than 25,000 people living in the floodplain in Mathura district, the great majority in Vrindavan itself. These colonies are spread over a large area now, all with government approval.
The electricity department has furnished connections to the grid. The government has built roads there. If the government activities are legal, then how can their houses be illegal?
Were the government officials who sanctioned these developments not know that it was illegal to build in the floodplain? Why did they register these constructions? Why did they set circle rates for this land? Now why are 25 thousand people to be punished with homelessness for something that the government itself is responsible? Why not take action on the officials who created the mess?
Residents of the illegal colonies are organizing themselves. They have started to fix a battle plan. They have plenty of strong arguments to make a case. The people are ready to obey the judicial orders of the NGT. However, they want their due from the government departments.
Rajkumar Sharma of the committee said the government established the circle rates who built on the floodplain. Each plot has its legal documents. NGT has now ordered that our homes be destroyed, so let them bear the costs of rehabilitation. If they don’t do this, the District Administration, MVDA and Municipal Council will not find it easy to take action.
The following colonies in the floodplain have grown considerably in the past decade: Jaisinghpura, Sadar Bazar, Damodarpur, Aurangabad, Gokul Barrage, Mant, Yamunapar Laxmi Nagar, as well as many other parts of Gokul, Mant and Mahavan tehsils. No action has yet been taking to stop the populations of these colonies from growing.
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