Around 50,000 migrants from various states, settled in the Khori area on the encroached land of the Aravali forest in Faridabad district, face the prospect of becoming homeless following the Supreme Court’s order to clear the land of encroachments. The apex court’s strict order has left authorities with no other option than demolishing over 10,000 houses in the Khori area near Lakkarpur village on the encroached forested land adjoining the Faridabad-Surajkund road. The Khori residents face eviction after a bench of justices A M Khanvilkar and Dinesh Maheshwari dismissed a plea by the Haryana government and the Faridabad municipal authorities to review its earlier order to evict the people and demolish their houses to clear the forest land of all encroachments. “We want our (forest) land vacant,” the bench tersely told the authorities while junking their plea to review its June 7 order for eviction. On the apex court’s order, District Commissioner Yashpal said the people have already been told that the court’s order for the demolition of illegal houses built on the encroached land will have to be implemented in all circumstances. Accordingly, they have been told to take out their belongings and vacate their houses for demolition, he said, adding the district authority has also built some temporary camps to shelter them for four-five days till they find some place to live. They would also be provided free transport to the camps, DC Yashpal said. People facing the prospect of the loss of their houses they considered their own all along for at least two decades if not more appeared completely distraught. The majority of people living in the Khori area are migrants from states like Bihar, easter Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal and most of them belong to the minority community. “We bought the land and houses here in this colony and settled here on assurances by builders that the colony will be regularised before soon. On our addresses here, the government authorities even issued ration cards, voter Id, Aadhar cards and we were sure that we finally have roofs over our heads. And then this is happening to us,” said a distraught 65-year-old Narayan Tiwari, an Ayodhya native. The head of a 14-member family said he has been left with no other option now except going back to his native place in Ayodha, where his house is not even worth living in due to lack of maintenance for years and decades. Facing the prospect of being on roads, many women broke into tears as interacted with them. “Many of us were born here and many of us came as brides after marriage. But after the demolition of our houses here, we will be left with neither our own parental homes nor those of in-laws,” said a sobbing Sarita. Another elderly man, Nabab Khan recalled that he had come to the place with his father 40 years ago. “We used to sell carpets here from Mirzapur to make a living. Now I along with all ten people of my family will have to sleep under the open sky. We have no house even in our native place to go,” he rued.