Facing the grim prospect of eviction in the biting cold,  nearly  5,000 families of Haldwani in Uttarakhand will  anxiously await  the outcome of the Supreme Court’s  proceedings on Thursday to know their fate.

The  top court will hear their  plea challenging the Uttarakhand High Court’s (HC) plea directing the removal of encroachments from 29 acres of Railway land in Haldwani on Thursday.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices SA Nazeer and PS Narasimha posted the matter for hearing after advocate Prashant Bhushan mentioned the matter. Bhushan submitted that the case — of more than 5,000 houses in Haldwani being demolished — is similar to the matter scheduled to be heard on Thursday.

The apex court agreed to tag the matter and posted the matter for hearing on Thursday.

The Uttarakhand HC on December 20 ordered the removal of encroachments from 29 acres of Railway land in the town’s Banbhoolpura area after giving a week’s advance notice to encroachers to vacate it.

Thousands of residents of Banbhoolpura had protested the removal of encroachments, saying it would render them homeless and jeopardise the future of their schoolgoing children. The move will affect a large number of women, children and the elderly.

The HC had issued a directive in this matter saying that 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.  

If the occupants/encroachers, fail to vacate the premises, and land in dispute of the Railways, after being noticed, it will be open for the Railway Authorities, that they in joint coordination with the local Police, District Magistrate, Senior Superintendent 174 of Police and other Para Military Forces, as referred to above, will initiate immediate action and take a forceful possession of the occupied land from such occupants/encroachers.

C) The statutory authorities as referred to above, will demolish or remove the unauthorised structures, which have been raised by the encroachers on the railways land.

The court also allowed the  Railways to use  force to demolish the structure and to take in possession the property of the railways. The unauthorised occupants will have to bear the cost of such an exercise.