India’s capital, New Delhi, has undergone significant cosmetic changes ahead of this week’s gathering of world leaders. The Group of Twenty (G20) meeting begins on Saturday and lasts for two days. About $120 million was invested in the New Delhi project by the Indian government. Narendra Modi, the prime minister, referred to it as a “beautification process.” However, a large number of the city’s impoverished claim that the procedure destroyed their homes and small enterprises, forcing them to relocate and leave them without a means of support. They claim to feel forgotten, treated in the same way as the numerous dogs and monkeys taken out of metropolitan neighborhoods. In New Delhi, there are about 20 million residents. India is home to 1.4 billion people.
Thousands of people have been forced to relocate after hundreds of homes and small roadside businesses were destroyed since January. Numerous impoverished settlements known as “shantytowns” were leveled. Residents were frequently not informed in a timely manner about the impending devastation. According to officials, they demolished properties that were not lawful. Human rights advocates and the displaced populace claim that thousands more people are now homeless as a result of the destruction. New Delhi’s walkways and roads are now well-lit and smooth. There are vibrant flowers all across the city, and the buildings are painted with new paint.
The European Union and the 19 richest nations in the world make up the G20. The summit of world leaders will be held at a brand-new conference facility next to the well-known India Gate monument. In other Indian cities hosting lower-level G20 summits, similar shantytowns were also demolished. A rights advocacy group revealed in a July report that about 300,000 individuals were displaced as a result of the G20 summit preparations. Many came from areas that were anticipated to be visited by diplomats during G20 gatherings.
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