After the North Municipal Corporation of Delhi (NMC), the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) on Wednesday began the first phase of its anti-encroachment drive in the Karni Shooting Range area of Tughlakabad, during which 13 temporary kiosks were removed.

The drive is part of the first phase of a 10-day action plan prepared by the civic body within its jurisdiction, including Shaheen Bagh, the venue of the protracted anti-CAA protests in 2019.

The drive comes a few days after the Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Adesh Gupta wrote to the Mayors of SDMC and EDMC seeking the removal of encroachments by alleged “Rohingyas, Bangladeshis, and anti-social elements" in their areas.

As per the SDMC, the drive will cover areas such as Shaheen Bagh’s G block right up to Jasola, Kalindi Kunj park to Jamia Nagar Police Station, MB Road, Sriniwas Puri to Okhla Railway Station Gandhi camp, New Friends Colony to Buddh Dharam Mandir, in and around Gurudwara Road, Lodhi Colony, Merchant Market, around Sai Mandir, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Dhinsen Marg, Iskcon temple marg, and Khada colony.

SDMC Chairman, Central Zone, Rajpal Singh said that the drive began from Karni Singh Shooting Range on MB Road in the Sangam Vihar area, and will continue till May 13 in different localities.

He said that bulldozers were also being used to remove structures constructed illegally on roads.

"This drive is much needed, as the people living in the area are facing several hardships due to these encroachments. The people get late for their offices, the children were not able to reach their school on time because of the long traffic jams due to these illegal structures by the roadside," he said.

“Today’s drive started at 11:30 in the morning and one bulldozer, 12-13 pickup trucks, and 25 to 30 officials of the civic body were present. Adequate Delhi Police personnel to maintain law and order of the area were also present,” he informed.

During the drive, the SDMC demolished around 13 temporary structures and kiosks, including a sugarcane juice corner, etc, Singh said.

“This municipal corporation is not running this drive to target any community, It’s a routine drive conducted by the civic bodies to remove encroachments. Some people think that the bulldozer is only razing temporary structures in Muslim-dominated areas, but it's not. Anyone (any community) who illegally encroached on public land, will be removed by the corporation,” Singh said.

However, a senior SDMC official said that all these drives are subject to the availability of an adequate police force.

In April, the SDMC canceled its anti-encroachment drive scheduled at Jasola and Sarita Vihar, due to the unavailability of an adequate police force. The NMC conducted an anti-encroachment drive in the violence-hit Jahangirpuri area just four days after communal violence broke out during a Hanuman Jayanti procession.