The Constitution of India provides every citizen the right to a dignified life (Article 21) this is interpreted to include the right to housing. Forced evictions of homes and workplaces are the violation of several fundamental, constitutional and universal human rights; including the right to adequate housing, right to livelihood and most importantly right to life. With the increase in the incidents of the forced evictions in the recent past, the question of the right to adequate housing has increasingly gained significance for the urban poor. In 2017, around 200 incidents of evictions were reported across all the urban locales in the country (HLRN, 2018). Often the law is used as a resource in the cases of evictions through filing a writ petition to seek a stay on the eviction.
To discuss the above context National Campaign on Right to Adequate Housing and Foresight Forum for Housing Rights in Tamil Nadu jointly organised a one-day consultation on “Land and housing for all 2022: Tamil Nadu ” on Wednesday 06 March 2019 at Chennai. There were 73 participants from 13 districts of Tamil Nadu.
The main objectives of the foresight forum were to:
- Understand the right to land for all
- Understand the right to adequate housing for communities, activists, and advocates across contexts
- Develop strategies and legal supporting systems for post and pre-eviction intervention
- Develop an action plan to secure zero eviction
