The Supreme Court has ordered to vacate the land for the railway project in Haldwani. The court has said that people settled illegally on government land cannot demand to remain at the same place. They will have to go to a place provided under the rehabilitation policy of the government.
The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi has asked the people settled there to apply for houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. After the end of Ramzan on March 19, camps will be set up in the area to collect applications. The DM of Nainital will take a decision on which families are eligible for accommodation.
Railways wants to expand its facilities in an area of 30 hectares. Railways has been saying that Haldwani is the gateway to Uttarakhand. The railway station is to be expanded there. There is more development work to be done there. The railway track has to be removed from the erosion of the river flowing nearby and taken to a safe place, but due to illegal occupation of the land, no work is being done.
On the other hand, people of Gafoor Basti of Haldwani say that many of them have land lease. They cannot be removed from there. During the hearing in the Supreme Court, it came to light that some land in this area belongs to the Railways, while some belongs to the State Government. Due to encroachment on both types of lands, the state government has agreed to provide land for the project.
The state government also told the Supreme Court that most of the people settled there are living illegally. Those who have land lease, the government will acquire their land by giving compensation and hand it over to the Railways. According to the government, more than 5 thousand families and a population of about 27 thousand live in this area. The petitioners claim that the number of affected people is around 50 thousand. The next hearing of the case in the Supreme Court will be in April.
Keep in mind that Uttarakhand High Court had ordered to remove encroachment from railway land. The Supreme Court had banned it on January 5, 2023. Then the court had said that it cannot be said that it is right to remove thousands of people in a week using paramilitary forces. The court had said that it is right to develop the railway there, but rehabilitation of the people should also be considered.