Princess Park residents asked to vacate homes for war memorial

Nearly 2,000 residents of Princess Park here are staring at uncertain future after they received a Defence Ministry notice asking them to vacate the place for a war memorial.
The notice issued by the Defence Estate Officer of Delhi Cantt on March 20 has asked the residents most of whom work as domestic helps of defence personnel in the area, to vacate the place in one month.
The residents settled in 209 quarters comprising single room-kitchen sets claimed that they have lived there for generations since 1947.
"I am living at this place for over 25 years. Before me, my grandmother and her grandmother lived here since 1947. We are ready to vacate our homes but the government should provide us an alternative place to live in," said a resident Rosemary.

The notice stated that the Princess Park residents are "encroaching upon" 3.632 acre of land of the 14.173 acre allotted by Defence Ministry for the National War Museum.
The notice has warned that the encroachments will be demolished if the residents did not comply with the eviction order.

"Over the years, number of residents has swelled to over 2,000 here. There are also elderly widows living here who have no one to fall back upon," Rosemary said.
The Government of India has approved a Rs 500 crore project for building the National War Memorial and the National War Museum near India Gate in memory of over 22,500 soldiers who laid down their lives post-Independence.

The total time for completion of the entire project at Princess Park is estimated to be five years.