An anti-encroachment demolition drive in the Baridih locality of Jamshedpur created a flurry of bulldozers, which ransacked several shops that had been in existence ever since many years. Led by Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC) with the assistance of Tata Steel UISL, this operation, where streets were littered with rubble and with shopkeepers shocked, was done with a lot of police presence.
The destruction was mainly on illegal structures around Bajrang Chowk, in which more than nine shops were destroyed to the ground. These comprised the old paan shops, cycle repair shops and the general provision stores, most of them being lifelines to the proprietors of the shops as well as to the people surrounding them. It is said that the move is part of a bigger plan to dislocate land to expand the Tata Manipal Medical College campus.
There were shots of shopkeepers pleading with pleas to the authorities and bodies in front of bulldozers in their frantic attempts to preserve their living styles. Yet, their demonstrations were soon overwhelmed by the security officials who were there to see that the demolition was done without any hindering challenges. Most of the shopkeepers who were given the eviction notices were surprised, arguing that they had not been warned and were not given a chance to move.
The event is explained tearfully by one of the affected traders whose family had been running a shop in the area for more than 40 years ago as a complete collapse of everything we had built. And just like others, he required prompt rehabilitation and compensation, stating that they wanted specific vendor areas and a decent provision as per the Street Vendors Act.
Police, however, insisted that the shops pulled down were illegal and had occupied government or school land. According to them, the impulse was needed to preserve the standards of urban planning and enable significant development projects. Though admitting the effect on livelihood, they clarified that several notices have been released in the past few months.
This is but one of a series of anti-encroachment drives that have been sweeping over many areas of Jamshedpur. Back in February, such actions were held in such locations as Parsudih, Sonari, Kalimati, and Kadma when residential and commercial premises constructed on government land were demolished. The basement stores of the Birenu Trade Centre at Sakhi were also cleared on the order of the Jharkhand High Court on the basis of a violation of the building rules.
This latest move in Baridih has brought back the sphere of debate regarding the relation between development and displacement. Whereas the authorities claim to be demolishing in the interests of developing the infrastructure and decongesting the traffic, the critics claim that the human side of these demolitions is also overlooked. It is argued that there is no clear rehabilitation policy, and vendors are being evicted without being given any alternative structures, even though they have legal protection under the prevailing law.
When more land is cleared and bulldozers move along, the city is divided. On the one hand, modernization and systematic land use are being promoted, and on the other, more and more voices are being heard, declaring the necessity of compassion, justice, and comprehensive city planning, not leaving aside the working classes.
