New Delhi, Sep 11 (PTI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave two months to the Uttarakhand government to submit a concrete proposal for the rehabilitation of 50,000 people who face the prospect of being displaced after the railway land they have allegedly occupied illegally for decades in Haldwani is cleared of encroachments.
The Uttarakhand government told a bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan that in compliance with the court’s earlier order, a joint meeting of the state, railways and other stakeholders was held and the process of identifying the land required for a project of the public sector transport behemoth is in progress.
“The process of identifying the strip of land which is required immediately or which will be required in due course of time for completion of the project has commenced. Similarly, the matter for rehabilitation of those who are likely to be affected is also under active consideration and given two months time, a concrete proposal shall be placed on record,” the bench noted.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by the railways seeking vacation of its January 5 last year order staying an order of the Uttarakhand High Court for removal of encroachments from around 30 acres of land claimed by the railways in Haldwani.
An interlocutory application by the Centre sought a strip of the land to be made available urgently to facilitate railway operations as a retaining wall protecting the tracks had collapsed during the floods last year.
During the brief hearing, senior advocate Balbir Singh, appearing for the Uttarakhand government, sought two months for finalising the rehabilitation proposal.
He said around 4,500 families live on the land and financial arrangements have to be made between the railways and the state for their relocation. “For that we are seeking time because after a few meetings we could not reach any consensus,” he said.
The lawyer said a new rehabilitation policy is also in the works.
Singh said the railways is in the process of identifying the land needed for their rehabilitation and a survey is also underway to ascertain how many people would be required to be shifted.
Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the affected families, said since the retaining wall which was breached due to floods is almost complete, the flooding of railway tracks is not possible anymore. He said there was no need for shifting anyone from the place.
The railways, however, wants the families to be shifted to facilitate creation of more infrastructure.
The top court said its interim order of stay on the high court’s order will continue.
On July 24, the top court had directed the Uttarakhand chief secretary to hold a meeting with the Centre and the railways to find ways to rehabilitate the people who have encroached upon the railway land.
It had directed the state government to identify the land required for upgradation of railway infrastructure and families likely to be affected due to the proposed eviction.
According to the railways, there are 4,365 encroachers on the land. The residents are resisting any move to relocate them, asserting they are the rightful owners.
Nearly 50,000 people, a majority of them Muslims, belonging to over 4,000 families reside on the disputed land.
The top court had on January 5 last year stayed the Uttarakhand High Court order for removal of encroachments from 29 acres of land claimed by the railways, terming it a “human issue” and saying 50,000 people cannot be uprooted overnight.
In its December 20, 2022 order, the high court had said, “The railway authorities in coordination with the district administration, and if need be, with any other paramilitary forces, shall immediately, after giving a week’s notice to the occupants over the railways land, ask them to vacate the land within the aforesaid period.” PTI MNL MNL SK SK
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