NMC Was Directed To Hand Over EWS Flats To Rohingyas

North Delhi Municipal Council (NMC) was directed to hand over 240 EWS flats at Bakkarwala to Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), which regulates the registration of foreign nationals.

NEW DELHI | Updated: 18 August, 2022 8:15 pm IST

Rohingya settlement at Kalindi Kunj (TNI Pic By Amit Rawat)

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-run Delhi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central Government are at loggerheads over the issue of shifting Rohingyas to Economically Weaker Section (EWS) flats.

The idea of relocation was mooted a year ago. North Delhi Municipal Council (NMC) was subsequently directed to hand over 240 EWS flats at Bakkarwala to Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO), which regulates the registration of foreign nationals.

This has come to the fore from the copy of the minutes of the meeting held between the chief secretary of Delhi Naresh Kumar and officers from the Revenue Department, Delhi Home Department and Delhi Police on July 29, 2022.

As per records, the idea of relocating Rohingyas was mooted after their families were found to encroach upon the Uttar Pradesh government’s Irrigation Department land located at Kalindi Kunj in the southeastern part of Delhi. The families were reportedly shifted to this land following a fire incident that took place in 2021.

In one of the meetings, it was said that at present, about 95 inmates were occupying the detention centre in Lampur in Delhi. Subsequently, a proposal to house around 1,200 Rohingyas in Delhi was sent to the Delhi government at Lampur Beggar Home, but it was rejected. Alternatively, it was proposed that these refugees could be shifted to 240 EWS flats of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) constructed at Bakkarawala.

The Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) Delhi inspected the premises at Bakkarwala and found them suitable for housing Rohingyas. However, the security audit of the Delhi Police has not been done.

Since then, a slew of meetings have been held between the officers. The North Delhi Municipal Council (NMC) was finally directed to hand over 240 EWS flats at Bakkarwala to FRRO, which regulates the registration of foreign nationals.

Sources said it was directed in the meeting that FRRO would take over the EWS flats at Bakkarwala for the creation of a detention centre and complete the procedure and other codal formalities in coordination with the Delhi Police and Home Department of Delhi. This process will be completed by August 2022.

The FRRO was to further consult with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to take the necessary action to detain these Rohingyas. In the meeting, it was also directed that a detailed self-contained note may be put up to bring the issue to the notice of the Lt Governor of Delhi by the Home Department.