The Delhi High Court on Friday stayed the central government’s eviction order against three artists, including two Padmashri awardees, asking them to vacate the accommodation provided to them for their contribution in the field of art.
According to the reports, a petition was filed by artists – Bharati Shivaji, V Jayarama Rao and Banasri Rao, stating that they were senior citizens, who did not have any alternate accommodation in Delhi except for the government accommodation which was given to them in 1987.
Hearing the petition filed by the aggrieved petitioners, a Bench of Justice Navin Chawla put a stay on the said eviction notice and sought response from the Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
“There shall be a stay on the operation of the impugned order dated October 9, 2020, till the next date of hearing. This order shall, however, not prevent the respondents to consider the representation of the petitioners and communicate the decision thereon to the petitioners,” the court said. The matter will be heard again on January 22.
Petitioners ask the govt to formulate policy to allow them to stay at govt accommodation
The petitioners also sought a direction to the respondents to formulate/frame policy or guidelines for permitting the artists to continue to retain their accommodation for lifetime upon payment of a periodic nominal licence fee.
They also said, unlike other professionals, they do not make substantial sums of money. In fact, the petitioners claimed that the income they earn is only paltry in nature, which is also reinvested, in their artistic works.
The traditional art and culture can be inculcated into the next generation only through apprenticeship with such eminent artists, instead of evicting them and leaving them homeless, the plea further said.
Earlier, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs had sent them eviction notices for overstaying in the government bungalow stating that their stay had been illegal since 2014. The MoHUA had ordered these artists to vacate the premises by December 31.
