The General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee, former Union Minister, and MP from Sirsa Lok Sabha constituency, Kumari Selja said that the BJP government and administration of the state have made the lives of the Sirsa Ther displaced families miserable.
These 730 displaced families have been temporarily settled in Housing Board flats, where they are deprived of basic amenities and are troubled by issues related to electricity, drinking water, and sewage.
The Housing Board frequently sends notices to vacate the flats, asks them to deposit ₹17.50 lakhs for a flat, and even disconnects electricity connections to harass them.
She has written a letter to Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, requesting permanent housing for the displaced families. The High Court has also ordered to provide permanent housing, not temporary.
In a statement released to the media, Kumari Selja said that the Sirsa Ther is a centrally protected monument by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). This site, declared a centrally protected monument, is currently occupied by over 3000 families in approximately 85 acres.
Due to pending cases in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Sirsa district administration, with the support of ASI, has already displaced over 750 families from around 31 acres.
These 730 displaced families have been temporarily relocated to Housing Board flats in Sirsa. The district administration and ASI are determined to displace more than 2300 families from the remaining 54 acres.
The ASI claims the need to protect this centrally protected monument but has not taken steps to excavate the 31 acres vacated by the 750 displaced families to determine if any monument needs preservation. Instead, it continues to pressure for the removal of the remaining families and vacating the remaining land.
She urged the Chief Minister to write to the ASI to excavate the land vacated by the 750 families first and ascertain if there is anything to be preserved as a monument. She said that the approximately 750 displaced families, temporarily settled in Housing Board flats, have not been adequately rehabilitated and are deprived of basic amenities in these flats. The displaced are troubled by issues related to electricity, water, and sewage.
The sewer lines are blocked, and these people are living in hellish conditions. Their electricity is cut off whenever it pleases the authorities. The Housing Board often issues notices asking them to deposit ₹17.50 lakhs per flat or face eviction.
These displaced families live under the constant threat of eviction, despite being promised permanent housing by the administration. The Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered the government to provide permanent housing to the Ther residents before vacating the land, but this has not been done.
The remaining families living on the remaining 54 acres are in constant fear of being displaced. The administration has been making the same false promise for years about selecting land in a certain village for the displaced, misleading both the displaced and the court. She said that under a Congress government, the Ther displaced would be provided with plots or housing for permanent residence as a priority.
