Encroachers on railway land in Haldwani have no right to be there: SC
The Supreme Court on Tuesday said encroachers of railway land in Haldwani in Uttarakhand do not have a vested legal right to be there, indicating that over 5,000 families will have to vacate the disputed land for the proposed expansion project. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi noted that the dispute over the land has traversed different courts and observed that the stalemate over encroached railway land cannot be allowed to continue endlessly.
The Bench directed the Centre and the State authorities to ascertain the eligibility of families residing in the area for Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana (PMAY). The top court directed the Nainital Collector, Haldwani sub-division officer and other officials, including members of the district-level legal service authority, to visit the area and set up a camp to assist the families occupying the land to fill the forms and formalities for taking benefit of the scheme.
The bench said the court will appreciate it if the applications by eligible families for the PMAY scheme are filled by March 31.
The bench directed the Collector and the Secretary of the state legal service authority to file a status report. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for petitioners who are residents of the area, submitted that they have been staying in the area, which falls in and around the Haldwani railway station, for over four to five decades.
He said that the State Government had earlier said that they would regularise the area but nothing was done.
Justice Bagchi said, “It is a public land or to say it is railway land, a fact which is not in dispute. You are actually getting a concession for being there.
“You cannot claim it as a right to be there. You are getting a concession because the authorities slept over the illegalities for years.”
Bhushan said that for the expansion project, not all land was required and the railways can take only whatever was required or shift the project.
CJI Kant said that the court cannot ask the railways to shift the project as it is for the experts to do so. Senior advocate Collin Gonsalves, appearing for the petitioners, said there are several religious places in the area and people need resettlement before being displaced.
CJI Kant told Gonsalves, “Have mercy on these people. They are residing in unhygienic conditions where there is no potable drinking water, electricity and sewage arrangement. Let them decide if they want a house under the PMAY scheme and if there are any impediments, the court will take care of it.”
Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, said that an expansion project was needed for the railways as hills start from Haldwani upwards.
She submitted that the river water entered the tracks earlier and caused damage to the railway infrastructure. Bhati added that the displaced eligible families can be given houses under the PMAY scheme either in Uttarakhand or in Uttar Pradesh and, if needed, Rs 2,000 per month for six months can be given to them. She added that 13 residents of the area have freehold land and the state will be acquiring those pieces of land.
The bench posted the matter for further hearing in April.
