Reconciling The Right To Shelter With Property Rights: A Constitutional Analysis Of Slum Rehabilitation In Bangalore
- IJLLR Journal
- Jan 25
- 1 min read
Isha Dubey, BBA LLB (Hons.), O.P. Jindal Global University
ABSTRACT
This paper aims to examine the constitutional tension between the Right to Shelter under Article 21 and the Right to Property under Article 300A in the context of state-led slum demolitions in Bangalore. The main argument of this paper is that contemporary urban governance has proven to disproportionately prioritize land commodification and redevelopment over the dignity of the marginalised communities that have settled there.
Through a doctrinal and case-based analysis of eviction drives in Ejipura, Kariyammana, Agrahara and Ganganagar, the paper depicts how procedural safeguards and rehabilitation frameworks remain inconsistently implemented, which resurfaced a much larger issue – constitutional guarantees which remain largely illusory at the ground level. Further, it critiques the structural deficiencies of the Karnataka Slum Areas (Improvement and Clearance) Act, 1973, targeting the absence of effective enforcement mechanisms and lack of accountability structures.
Drawing on the evolving jurisprudence surrounding the “Right to the City,” through this paper, I advocate for the establishment of an independent statutory regulatory body to oversee evictions, ensure timely rehabilitations and facilitate access to legal remedies in order to prevent arbitrary state action. Ultimately, the paper equips a rights-based framework for urban development and seeks to reconcile property governance with constitutional dignity, urban citizenship and substantive housing justice.
