Baisakhi Abasan looked like a refugee camp in the evening on September 6. The housing estate was teeming with police personnel and RAF personnel as furniture, clothes, books, gas cylinders were being heaped in front of buildings with residents standing guard as more of their belongings were brought down the stairs.
An eviction drive was carried out by the urban development department after 18 families, which had moved court against an eviction notice served last year, lost the case. Of the 18, 16 families were from Baisakhi Abasan and two from Banasri Abasan.
With the first round of eviction being a success and another round planned after the Durga puja, the government now has plans to equip the housing estate with amenities like a community centre, a market complex and a guest house. Security will also be beefed up.
The back story
There are five government housing estates in Salt Lake where government employees are given residential quarters during their period of service. But according to sources, many stay put even after retirement, sometimes even after the death of the original allottee.
“All the families evicted occupied C type apartments, which have two bedrooms and kitchen space over 450 sq ft. We have about 520 C type apartments in Baisakhi and 700-odd D type ones which are one-bed room flats. Many employees housed in D type apartments have on promotion become eligible for C type ones but because of such illegal occupants we are not being able to accommodate the rightful claimants. Close to 1,200 applications for C Type apartments have piled up with us,” said Rana Ray, joint secretary of the urban development and municipal affairs department, who is also the estate officer, Bidhannagar. According to his estimate, about 300 of the 2,000-odd flats in the five housing estates are being illegally occupied.
When the eviction notice was served, 18 families went to court. They argued that since they had been paying rent, they could not be called illegal occupants. But on August 28, the high court single bench of Justice Debangsu Basak ordered the government to “proceed expeditiously with eviction proceedings.”
Belongings of evicted families piled up. (Debasmita Bhattacharya)
New buildings for C type flats coming up in Baisakhi. (Debasmita Bhattacharya)
Action time
As soon as the go-ahead came from the higher authorities, the officials got cracking and help was drafted from both police and the civic body. On the appointed day, the contingent of 400 police and RAF personnel, 150 labourers, three lorries, electricians and plumbers gathered in front of Bikash Bhavan and moved towards the destinations. Even two ambulances and a team from the Bidhannagar Sub-divisional Hospital were kept at hand.
The team from Bidhannagar north police station went to Banasri Abasan while that from Bidhannagar east thana went to Baisakhi.
The drive started at 3pm. “We did face initial resistance. They tried blocking us at the gate and then gheraoed us. But once they realised we were determined to carry out the drive they pleaded for a day or two. I gave them 15 minutes to decide whether they would move out on their own or whether the police would storm in. Finally they agreed to let our labourers remove their belongings,” said Ray.
Corporation chairperson Anita Mondol, who is the local councillor, also reached the spot and helped with the process.
By 8pm, the team had sealed all 18 apartments after taking possession and pasted a notice each on the door.
When The Telegraph Salt Lake reached the spot, many of the evicted family members were seen sitting in front of their houses amid their furniture and luggage. “We were not given advance notice that they would ask us to move out today. I requested them to give us some time, but they did not listen and started taking our possessions out. No one else is at the house. I was unable to contact my son in office,” said a woman, sitting infront of her house in C block. “Many of the other families of retired employee are still living. Why are they turning only us out?” she argued.
Siddheswar Majhi, who runs a snacks shop in Baisakhi market, admitted to having received an eviction notice a year and half ago. “We decided to take the fight to court as we have been paying the rent, bills and taxes. When the judge turned down our appeal we were all prepared to appeal to the division bench on Monday when they suddenly came and asked us to leave immediately,” said Majhi, who claimed that his father had retired four years ago.
As night fell, the families ordered vehicles to carry off their belongings elsewhere. “We’ve found a room in Kestopur for Rs 9,000, which we had to accept. We cannot spend the night on the street,” said Shibnath Dey, who had retired in 2014.
The evicted residents did approach the division bench afterwards but lost the case there as well last week, said Rananjoy Chatterjee, a lawyer representing them.
Future plans
The department is cross-checking the list of allotments and preparing a second list of eviction, which is expected to take place after Durga puja.
Baisakhi residents say some of their other neighbours are now moving out of their own accord. Once enough C type apartments are freed, new allotments will be made. “My house rent is being deducted for C type housing while I am forced to stay on in a D type flat. Finally it seems things are moving,” said a resident not wishing to be named. The department is already building five C Type apartment blocks. Five more four-storeyed ones are on the anvil.
The low boundary wall of the estate will be raised. Nine of the 15 gates have been shut to check unmonitored entry and exit. Principal secretary Subrata Gupta went for an inspection on September 12 and asked officials to prepare a proposal for a community hall, a guest house and a market for daily necessities to be built.
