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To, Dr G Parameshwara The President, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee, Bangalore.

Subject: The land grab and eviction of slum dwellers in EWS Quarters, Ejipura and Khar Golibar, Mumbai Respected Sir, This memo is to highlight the issue of slum demolitions happening under Congress-NCP rule in Maharashtra and the demolitions in Bangalore in which the BJP government has played an active part with what appears to be the support of a Congress MLA and corporator. As you may already be aware, the eviction of 1512 families in EWS quarters, Ejipura has happened with brute force and around 80 families are still living in the footpath. It is common knowledge that Maverick builders who have been given this land in a Public Private Partnership to build a mall, is being investigated by the Lokayukta for discrepancies in the construction and subsequent use of a parking space where Garuda mall now stands. The residents of EWS quarters, Ejipura were not given any notice, nor was their consent taken before this agreement was entered into. Brute force was used in the evictions, by the BBMP with the support of the police force and a lot of women were injured and even arrested for defending the right to their homes! The concessionare agreement point to the need for relocation until the new flats are given but was not followed, resulting in the most vulnerable and marginalized sections of society like dalits, muslims, women and children left to fend for themselves. The land has been given to Maverick on the claim that it is in public interest. What is the definition of public interest and who is the public in this case? In Khar Golibar, Mumbai, a hunger fast running into its 6 th day by Medhatai Patkar and slum dwellers is ongoing. The corruption and nexus between the Government and Builders under the cover of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) in Mumbai, that has led to lakhs of slum-dwellers struggling for the basic right to a house. The most recent example is collapse of a 8 storey building in Mumbra, constructed within a span of 2-3 months leading to death of more than 70 people. In Khar Golibar, 140 acres of land- home to 46 societies and over 26,000 families - has been literally gifted to a single private company Shivalik Ventures, by invoking a special clause 3K- of the SRA. This clause gives a single builder complete rights to redevelop a large slum without inviting tenders. A small society of 323 houses in Golibar Ganesh Krupa has become the flash point for the struggle between the SRA/Builder nexus and the Slum dwellers, ever since it slapped a case of fraud and forgery on Shivalik Ventures, the builder that forcefully undertook the rights to their development. In both these instances, we see that the interest of the people have been sacrificed to protect the commercial interests of big builders. In a democracy, where the peoples representatives dont work for the interest of the people who have elected them to power, what hope is there for the people? The coalition between Congress and

BJP has shown utter disregard for vulnerable slum dwellers in Bangalore as can be seen from the EWS evicitions and the Congress NCP coalition has done the same in Bombay as we see from the example of Golibar. We request you to take note of our memorandum and please clarify the stand of the Congress(I) on the rights of the urban poor to a life of dignity in our cities. Sincerely,

Arati Chokshi, Peoples Union for Civil Liberties, Karnataka (PUCL-K) Gowru Chinnappa, Peoples Union for Civil Liberties, Karnataka (PUCL-K) Maitreyi, Alternative Law Forum (ALF) Vinay, Alternative Law Forum (ALF) Kaveri, State Coordinator, WSS, LESBIT Malarvizhi, Action Aid. Sister Celia Geeta Menon Narsimhappa Narsimha Murthy Sumathi Murthy, LESBIT Rakesh, FEDINA and others. Supported by: EWS Ejipura residents Relief for EWS Ejipura Demolition Victims and its volunteers. Forum against EWS Land Grab.

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