Mosque, temple demolished in Delhi as part of anti-encroachment drive

The bulldozers of PWD demolished a temple and a mosque at Delhi ITO area on February 25 as part of an anti-encroachment drive.

The drive was conducted on the orders of the High Court to ensure right of way.

Earlier, the Delhi Government had sent a proposal to Lt Governor VK Saxena to remove as many as nine "unauthorised" religious structures along the upcoming Delhi-Saharanpur Expressway, which he approved.

On Monday, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia requested the Lieutenant Governor to prevent the demolition of religious structures for different infrastructure projects. He pointed out that the religious structures in question were 40-90 years old and warned that the action could trigger a law-and-order situation.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) recommended removal of 23 religious structures on the Delhi side of the Akshardham Junction-Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border for the expressway. The Lieutenant Governor (LG) approved the removal of nine of these structures, noting that the chief minister and his deputy had given the necessary approvals before the file was sent to him."

"While (the) deputy chief minister had approved this proposal on December 9, 2022, the chief minister endorsed the same on February 1, 2023, before sending it to this (LG) Secretariat on February 8, 2023," file notings by Saxena showed.

In an order dated September 29, 2009, the Supreme Court directed that each unauthorised religious structure on public places such as roads and parks would be reviewed on a case-by-case by state and Union Territory governments concerned and appropriate steps taken expeditiously, the Lt Governor noted.

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Delhi High Court Order

In March last year, the Delhi High Court, in an order, said that the government concerned were ‘duty bound’ to remove all unauthorised constructions exist on public land.  

"The mere fact that the encroachments represent religious structures, a place of worship or are given the colour of a religious structure, cannot possibly detract or dilute from that obligation," Saxena noted citing the high court observation.

"I have reiterated the above at the risk of repetition with the hope that you would appreciate and accordingly execute the letter and spirit of above mentioned pronouncements in the interests of Delhi, which is the capital of India, and its people to whom you owe good governance.

"It is also expected that the same will be conveyed to your colleagues in the Cabinet and they will also be advised to refrain from politicising issues in the name of religion," Saxena noted, referring to the chief minister.

DY CM Sisodia, on the other hand, claimed that the LG had sent 19 files regarding central and Delhi government projects, seeking demolition of 74 religious structures.

As per the Delhi Police reports, these demolition drives on the religious structures could lead to huge uproars and protests in the national capital. The reports also mentioned that the demolition drives could also lead to riots.