New Delhi: Forty-five-year-old Laxmi sits inside the Mahavir Valmiki Temple in Delhi’s Mehram Nagar, clutching bundles of documents — her ID cards, her parents’ papers, and the proof of residence. Around her, scores of residents from her locality can be seen holding stacks of files and papers. Some enter the nearby NSG office, while others stop at the temple, which has become a meeting point for the villagers.

The residents of Mehram Nagar find themselves in news headlines as they protest over eviction notices issued by the National Security Guard (NSG). The NSG has alleged illegal encroachment and unauthorised occupation of land it claims was allotted to it by the Ministry of Defence. It has ordered residents to vacate the area by 30 September. In 1962, the Delhi Cantonment Board (DCB)

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