AAP says demolition notices issued to slum clusters in Shalimar Bagh, Shahdara, slams BJP

The AAP on Friday (July 25, 2025) claimed that demolition notices have been issued to slum clusters in Shalimar Bagh and Shahdara, and accused the BJP-led Delhi government of betraying the city’s poor and reneging on its poll promises.

There was no immediate response available from the BJP or the Delhi government to the allegations.

At a press conference, Leader of Opposition Atishi said, “The BJP distributed cards to slum dwellers promising ‘Jahan jhuggi, wahin makaan’. Even Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured that no slum would be razed without alternative housing. Yet, within six months, slums have been demolished across the city. Now, in Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s own constituency, notices have been served to two slum areas.”

According to Ms. Atishi, residents of Indira Camp in Shalimar Bagh and Lalbagh in Shahdara — both established with allotment cards in 1990 — have been asked to vacate their homes within 15 days. Lalbagh slums are scheduled for demolition on July 31.

“No government touched these slums for 35 years. But this BJP government is bulldozing them,” she said. “Don’t underestimate the power of the poor. They run this city and they can halt it,” she said.

AAP leader and former MLA from Shalimar Bagh Vandana Kumari claimed the notice was served on July 23, in the same area where CM Gupta resides.

“This is an anti-poor policy. AAP has never demolished any slum without first providing permanent housing,” she said, vowing to resist the move “with full force”.