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By Rishi Lekhi and Piyush Nagpal

The Associated Press

NEW DELHI 鈥� New Delhi鈥檚 crowded streets have new surfaces. Streetlights illuminate formerly dark sidewalks. City buildings and walls are painted with bright murals. Planted flowers are everywhere.

But as India鈥檚 capital got a makeover ahead of this week鈥檚 summit of the Group of 20 nations, many of the city鈥檚 poor say they were simply erased, much like the stray dogs and monkeys that have been removed from some neighborhoods.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi鈥檚 government hopes the elaborate effort聽to make New Delhi sparkle 鈥� a 鈥渂eautification project鈥� with a $120 million price tag 鈥� will help showcase the cultural prowess of the world鈥檚 most populous nation and strengthen its position on the global stage.

But for many street vendors and those crammed into New Delhi鈥檚 shantytowns, the makeover has meant displacement and loss of livelihood, raising questions about the government鈥檚 policies on dealing with poverty. In a city of more than 20 million people, the 2011 census estimated the homeless at 47,000, but activists say that was a vast underestimate and that the real number is at least 150,000.

Since January, hundreds of houses and roadside stalls have been demolished, displacing thousands of people. Dozens of shantytowns were razed; many residents received eviction notices only a short while before work began.

Authorities say the demolitions were carried out against 鈥渋llegal encroachers,鈥� but activists and those evicted question the policy and allege that it has pushed thousands more into homelessness.

Similar demolitions have taken place in other Indian cities like Mumbai and Kolkata that have hosted聽various G20 events leading up to this weekend鈥檚 summit.

Activists say it was more than just a case of out of sight, out of mind.

鈥淚n the name of beautification, the urban poor鈥檚 lives are destroyed,鈥� said Abdul Shakeel of the activist group Basti Suraksha Manch, or Save Colony Forum. 鈥淭he money used for G20 is taxpayers鈥� money. Everyone pays the tax. Same money is being used to evict and displace them. It doesn鈥檛 make any sense.鈥�

The two-day global summit will take place at the new Bharat Mandapam building 鈥� a sprawling exhibition center in the heart of New Delhi near the landmark India Gate monument 鈥� and many聽world leaders are expected to attend. The G20 includes the world鈥檚 19 wealthiest countries plus the European Union. India currently holds its presidency, which rotates annually among the members.

In July, a report by the Concerned Citizens Collective, a group of rights activists, found that the preparations for the G20 summit resulted in the displacement of nearly 300,000 people, particularly from the neighborhoods that foreign leaders and diplomats will visit during various meetings.

At least 25 shantytowns and multiple night shelters for the homeless were demolished and turned into parks, the report said. However, the government failed to provide alternative shelters or places for the newly homeless, it added.

Last month, Indian police intervened to stop a meeting of prominent activists, academics, and politicians critical of Modi and his government鈥檚 role in hosting the G20 summit and questioning whose interests the summit would benefit.

鈥淚 can see the homeless on the streets … and now the homeless are not allowed to live on the streets either,鈥� said Rekha Devi, a New Delhi resident who attended the Aug. 20 gathering.

Devi, whose home was demolished in one of the efforts, said authorities refused to consider documents she showed as proof that her family had lived in the same house for nearly 100 years.

鈥淓veryone is behaving as if they are blind,鈥� Devi said. 鈥淚n the name of the G20 event, the farmers, workers and the poor are suffering.鈥�

India, home to 1.4 billion people, has struggled to end poverty, even though a recent government report said that nearly 135 million 鈥� almost 10 percent of the country鈥檚 population 鈥� exited so-called multidimensional poverty between 2016 and 2021. The concept takes into consideration not just monetary poverty but also how lack of education, infrastructure and services affect a person鈥檚 quality of life.

Indian authorities have been criticized in the past for clearing away homeless encampments and shantytowns ahead of major events.

In 2020, the government hastily erected a 1,640-foot-long brick wall in the state of Gujarat ahead of a visit by then-President Donald Trump, with critics saying it was built to block the view of a slum area inhabited by more than 2,000 people. Similar demolitions were also carried out during the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

Some street vendors say they are helpless, stuck between sacrificing their livelihoods for India鈥檚 pride and wanting to earn a living.

Shankar Lal, who sells chickpea curry with fried flatbread, said authorities told him three months ago to move away. These days, the only time he gets to open his stall along a busy New Delhi road near the G20 summit venue is on Sundays, when police pay less attention to the street vendors.

It鈥檚 not enough to eke out a living.

鈥淭hese are government rules, and we鈥檒l do what we are told,鈥� Lal said. 鈥淭he government doesn鈥檛 know whether we are dying of hunger or not.鈥�