The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed Tata Power-DDL to provide within 30 days electricity connections to Hindu refugees from Pakistan who have been living in a slum in the city for the last few years without any electricity.
A Division of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad passed the direction after it was informed that the Ministry of Defence, which owns the land where the families are currently residing, has granted a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the same.
“In view of the aforesaid, the present PIL shall stand disposed of with a direction to Tata Power to provide electricity connection to all the individuals residing in the locality who apply for the same within 30 days,” the court said.
The Court noted the submission of the counsel appearing for the Hindu refugees that they are ready to install pre-paid meters so that Tata does not suffer any losses in case of default and directed the company to provide connections to all the families living in the area.
The Court was hearing a public interest litigation petition stating that nearly 200 Hindu refugee families from Pakistan are living in North Delhi’s Adarsh Nagar area for several years. It was stated that there are small children and women in the area and in absence of electricity it has become very difficult for these families to survive the harsh conditions.
Earlier, in September 2022, the High Court had sought the response of the Central government as to why a no objection certificate (NOC) has not been issued to the Hindu refugees, residing without electricity for the last five to six years. The court had said that it hoped and trusted the Centre will look into the plight of the migrants sympathetically.
Earlier, in October 2021, the Centre had opposed electricity connections for Hindu refugees living in the area. The Centre had told the court that the camp is an illegal encroachment and it has been consistently following up on the removal of unauthorised occupation/encroachment with the district administration and police.
