Papers, meters gutted, compensation a mirage
NEW DELHI: Officials overseeing applications for compensation received from riot-affected people in north-east Delhi are facing a tough question: how to verify the claims of those whose houses and shops were set afire?
Many such people are saying that documents — such as voter identity card, Aadhaar card, driver’s licence and monthly electricity bill that carry house address — to back their claims have been gutted, according to government officials.
“For relatives of the dead and those recovering from injuries in hospitals, the verification task will be easy. In the absence of any documents, hospital papers such as medical reports, diary entries of police officials and discharge slips will work. The challenge is to verify applicants who fled their homes and shops that were ransacked and set on fire,” an official in the north-east district magistrate’s office said on the condition of anonymity.
To be sure, the government has not specified the list of documents that are to be submitted, and officials say they are accepting any credible paper that a riot victim could arrange.
As the dust settled on violence and life limped back to normalcy, 18 sub-divisional magistrates, appointed by the govern
ment, and their teams spread out across north-east Delhi to assess damages caused to properties on Sunday.
They navigated roads covered with sharp metal objects, stones and debris as the extent of the devastation became clearer days after rampaging mobs killed at least 42 people and wounded about 350.
“Have you seen what hell looks like? We saw it last week,” Abub Ibrar, a 35-year-old resident, said, describing a 12-hour frenzy in Shiv Vihar during which around 170 cars were burned to ashes near his house.
These vehicles were stationed at two separate parking lots in Shiv Vihar — possibly the worsthit locality — and were set on fire last Monday. Not a single vehicle escaped the damage.
For claim settlement, the government has set up a help desk at the district headquarters in Nand Nagri, where officials are sifting through documents seeking ex-gratia compensation announced by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal last week. By 2pm on Sunday, the help desk received 72 applications; some asking for relief for injuries suffered, and some for damaged houses, shops and vehicles.
According to officials, it was decided on Saturday evening that electricity meters at vandalised households will be tracked since every such meter has a unique number. The number (also known as CA number) discloses details of people who have been allotted connections, and establishes the link between a residence and its occupants.
The idea, however, did not work out after a first few successful cases, said another government official who is part of the relief, rehabilitation and compensation exercise. Such was the condition at some places that even electricity meters were not intact.
“In most houses that were torched, the damage was so intense that electricity meters were blown into pieces,” said a sub-divisional magistrate who was on a field survey in the riothit areas on Sunday.
North-east district magistrate Shashi Kaushal said she will chair a review meeting with officials to find solutions to all challenges. Relief measures and compensations are priority issues, she added.
IT WAS DECIDED ON SATURDAY EVENING THAT ELECTRICITY METERS AT VANDALISED HOUSEHOLDS WILL BE TRACKED SINCE EVERY SUCH METER HAS A UNIQUE NUMBER. THE NUMBER DISCLOSES DETAILS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN ALLOTTED CONNECTIONS