“Surplus Humanity” and the Margins of Legality - Chapman University
“Surplus Humanity” and the Margins of Legality - Chapman University
“Surplus Humanity” and the Margins of Legality - Chapman University
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Do Not Delete 12/12/2010 7:34 PM<br />
50 <strong>Chapman</strong> Law Review [Vol. 14:1<br />
The rationale for disparate treatment <strong>of</strong> corporate capital was<br />
articulated:<br />
Had such parties inkling <strong>of</strong> an idea that such clearances were not<br />
obtained by DDA [<strong>the</strong> builders], <strong>the</strong>y would not have invested such<br />
huge sums <strong>of</strong> money. The st<strong>and</strong> that wherever constructions have<br />
been made unauthorizedly [sic] demolition is <strong>the</strong> only option cannot<br />
apply to <strong>the</strong> present cases . . . [especially] when <strong>the</strong>y . . . are corporate<br />
bodies <strong>and</strong> institutions <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> question <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir having indulged in<br />
any malpractices in getting <strong>the</strong> approval or sanction does not arise. 332<br />
The Supreme Court also used <strong>the</strong> ―huge sums <strong>of</strong> money‖<br />
rationale in <strong>the</strong> Vedanta Group Case, where bauxite mining<br />
operations in Niyamgiri, Orissa, an environmentally fragile area<br />
home to indigenous tribal groups, were approved despite multiple<br />
irregularities <strong>and</strong> strong objections <strong>of</strong> residents <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> area. 333<br />
Emboldened by this judicial posture, <strong>the</strong> Delhi Laws (Special<br />
Provisions) Act 2006 was adopted, which provides for demolition<br />
<strong>of</strong> unauthorized structures, ―whe<strong>the</strong>r in pursuance <strong>of</strong> Court<br />
orders or o<strong>the</strong>rwise.‖ 334 This Act gave license for <strong>the</strong> removal <strong>of</strong><br />
slums where ―clearance <strong>of</strong> l<strong>and</strong> is required for specific public<br />
projects,‖ <strong>and</strong> ―<strong>the</strong> Central Government may, from time to time,<br />
issue such directions to <strong>the</strong> local authorities as it may deem fit,<br />
for giving effect to <strong>the</strong> provisions <strong>of</strong> this Act <strong>and</strong> it shall be <strong>the</strong><br />
duty <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> local authorities to comply with such directions.‖ 335<br />
The end result <strong>of</strong> judicial, legislative, <strong>and</strong> executive actions is<br />
increased ―segregation <strong>of</strong> economic classes‖ in Delhi. 336 A<br />
―develop-ment pornography‖ 337 has flourished where slumdwellers<br />
<strong>and</strong> squatters are held responsible for ―pressure on civic<br />
amenities, crime, social imbalances, economic exploitation,<br />
332 Id. (quoting <strong>the</strong> Writ Petition Against Vasant Junj Mall, Oct. 17, 2006, judgment<br />
<strong>of</strong> Justices Arijit Pasayat <strong>and</strong> S. H. Kpadia) (emphasis added). This pattern led to <strong>the</strong><br />
observation that ―it is members <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> so-called civil society who break laws with impunity<br />
<strong>and</strong> who dem<strong>and</strong> that <strong>the</strong> rules be waived for <strong>the</strong>m, whereas members <strong>of</strong> political society<br />
strive to become legal, to gain recognition <strong>and</strong> entitlements from <strong>the</strong> state.‖ Amita<br />
Baviskar & N<strong>and</strong>ini Sundar, Democracy versus Economic Transformation?, 43 ECON. &<br />
POL. WKLY. 87, 88 (2008).<br />
333 Rahul Choudhary, Environmental Clearance: A Farce Played by MoEF—The<br />
Vedanta Case, RADICAL NOTES JOURNAL, Sept. 24, 2007, available at<br />
http://radicalnotes.com/journal/2007/09/24/<strong>the</strong>-vedanta-case/.<br />
334 The Delhi Laws (Special Provisions Act, 2006 (No. 22 <strong>of</strong> 2006)), available at<br />
http://www.delhi.gov.in/DoIT/Finance/PDF/Acts%20<strong>and</strong>%20Rules/specialprovisionalAct.p<br />
df. See also Ramanathan, supra note 306, at 3197.<br />
335 The Delhi Laws (Special Provisions Act, 2006 (No. 22 <strong>of</strong> 2006)), available at<br />
http://www.delhi.gov.in/DoIT/Finance/PDF/Acts%20<strong>and</strong>%20Rules/specialprovisionalAct.p<br />
df. See also Ramanathan, supra note 305, at 3197.<br />
336 Nikhil Joseph & Pascal Goodman, On <strong>the</strong> Outskirts <strong>of</strong> <strong>Legality</strong>: Policy <strong>and</strong> Legal<br />
Aspects <strong>of</strong> Slum Resettlement in Delhi 19 (2008) (unpublished working paper) (on file with<br />
<strong>the</strong> Centre for Civil Society), available at http://ssrn.com/abstract=1325962.<br />
337 Rotimi Sankore, Behind <strong>the</strong> Image: Poverty <strong>and</strong> ―Development Pornography,‖<br />
PAMBAZUKA NEWS (Apr. 21, 2005), http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/27815.