In 1994, before the staff quarters were demolished, Shambhu had filed a petition in the High Court, asking for a stay till such time that his full and deserved compensation was paid by his employers. The workers had never been informed of the sale of the factory land, nor been given advance notice of their eviction and the subsequent demolition of their residences. Instead, they had been forced out with a token amount paid under the Voluntary Retirement Scheme. Shambhu was the only one who refused the VRS payout, and despite the threats to his life and well-being by hoodlums as well as the police, he took the matter to court from where he obtained a stay on his eviction as well as on the demolition of his residence. Because of this, Shambhu says that about forty lakhs of rupees remains unpaid to the Usha factory owners by the developers as on date.
Subsequently, Shambhu was deserted by two of his lawyers, who he suspects were bought over by the developers. In 2005, the High Court ruled that Shambhu's case was not a matter for them and belonged to the jurisdiction of the City Civil Court in Alipore. He had to go through the whole procedure all over again, and it is where it still stands as Shambhu continues his fight in the face of big money and even bigger odds with his meagre and dwindling resources.
Apart from the environmental issues that such a huge construction raises, causing genuine concern for not just me, but all citizens, I also see two other film projects in this story both of which will highlight the human interest side. These are the 'case studies' as it were, of the group of ex-workers who continue to live like lost souls along the boundary wall of South City, and the story of Shambhu, an individual, who by the courage of his convictions, has dared to confront the big money of corporate developers, and has unwittingly challenged the injustice they are perpetrating on the community.
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