Nalhar, Nuh: Even as the Punjab and Haryana high court on Monday, August 7, restrained the Haryana government and district authorities from any further demolitions in Nuh, locals whose homes and establishments were already bulldozed claim they suffered damages worth several lakhs of rupees, and that no proper notice was served.
While taking suo-motu cognizance of the matter, a division bench of Justices G.S. Sandhawalia and Harpreet Kaur Jeewan also issued notice to the Haryana government seeking a reply. On Sunday, the fourth day of the demolition drive, officials said that 94 houses and 212 other structures were razed.
But even as the court on Monday stayed further action, more than 750 structures have already been demolished over the past five days. Since communal violence erupted following a religious procession on July 31, at least six people have died and 156 persons arrested with 56 FIRs registered so far, according to The Hindu. Moreover, authorities have clamped down upon mobile internet services, with restrictions imposed on the same until August 08.
The Wire spoke to people whose homes, shops and establishments were demolished over the weekend, and all claimed that no notices were served, or that the notices only came in at the last minute on the day of the demolition.
Medicine supply stores and pathology labs reduced to debris near SHKM college at Nalhar. Photo: Sabah Gurmat
On Saturday morning, 53-year-old Asmina found rubble in place of the pathology lab she and her son ran adjacent to the Shaheed Hasan Khan Mewati government medical college in Nalhar. “We were never informed in advance about them bringing in bulldozers, how will we repay our loan now?” her son Akbar Khan asked.
A widow with four children, Asmina had taken a loan worth Rs 10 lakh in order to set up the lab. With their pathology lab now destroyed, both the mother and son said that they have no means of income.
Ashmina and two of her female relatives sit by the remains of their lab and medical shops at Nalhar. Photo: Ayush Tiwari
Locals claimed that the area next to the medical college in Nalhar has seen “at least” 50 shops, labs, restaurants and other establishments being reduced to rubble. Meanwhile, Nuh’s district authorities said in a statement that 45 concrete and 15 informal structures were removed from the 2.6 acres of land opposite the medical college in Nalhar. As per the district commissioner, demolitions across Nuh district had been ongoing in order to curb “illegal encroachments” with both the municipal corporation and forest department carrying out the same.
But those such as Mohammad Yunus, who ran a shop selling medicines, rejected the claim that their establishments were “illegal”. Yunus informed The Wire that shop was operational since 2012 with “a license being issued by the Haryana government to allow me to sell medicines”. The 34-year-old, who said he sold his land to be able to rent and run the shop, is now running pillar to post to make ends meet.
“I had Rs 50 lakh worth of medicines and supplies in my shop. It’s all gone now. Medicines don’t come cheap. All five of my children are young. How am I going to feed them and pay for their education now?” he asked.
Vakeel Ahmed, whose pathology lab was also destroyed, pointed out that establishments like his had been existing for “the past nine years”. The 28-year-old claimed they had “never been a problem for the authorities before these riots.” Ahmed suffered nearly Rs 1 lakh worth of supplies being damaged in addition to the razing of his shop and claims that no notice was given to him about the demolition drive. “We have close to fifty shops and labs here. Go and ask anybody, nobody was given a notice!”
Back-dated notices and claims of only Muslims being targeted
When contacted with queries regarding proof of notices served on time, the Nuh SDM Ashwani Kumar informed this reporter that everyone was served due notice. Kumar said, “They were all given adequate notice much before all these events. The notices were served earlier and they were all given enough time.”
However, Tahir Hussain Rupaniya, a lawyer and former president of the Nuh district’s bar association, said that notices were sent only on the morning of the demolition drive. “The authorities have back-dated the notices with June 30, 2023 as the date but in fact sent them only in the past one or two days. They are following the same playbook that the UP administration followed in Prayagraj last year when bulldozing Javed Mohammad and other Muslim activists’ homes,” Rupaniya alleged.
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The Wire accessed a copy of a notice sent by the Haryana government’s forest department to one Aas Mohammad that his home was illegally constructed on forest land. The notice is dated June 30, 2023, but Mohammad – whose home was built 24 years ago – said that the demolition notice was only served at the last minute and his house was razed.
A similar claim of back-dated notice was made by Mohammad Ali, who was scrambling along with his brothers to save his supplies. Ali ran a vehicle dent-repair business from his kiosk. “We got information about the demolitions just this morning,” he claimed. Ali added that “all Muslim-owned” kiosks had been demolished.
Denting and vehicle repairs kiosk owner Mohd Ali and his brothers scramble to pick up their supplies, amidst bulldozer action in Nuh. Photo: Ayush Tiwari
Echoing Ali’s claims, a local journalist from PTC News – speaking on condition of anonymity – said, “Muslim-owned establishments have been singled out. Even if this was an informal thaila or kiosk, why haven’t similar informal shops of Hindus been demolished or declared illegal then? And why did the administration act against supposed encroachment only now, after communal riots?”
This question was also raised by the Punjab and Haryana high court, which asked if the buildings belonging to a particular community are being brought down “under the guise of law and order problem, and an exercise of ethnic cleansing is being conducted by the state”.