The Supreme Court has asked the Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand to hold a meeting with the Central and Railway officials regarding the rehabilitation of 50 thousand people who have allegedly encroached upon the railway land in Haldwani. The petition of the Central Government is being heard before a bench headed by Justice Suryakant of the Supreme Court. In fact, on January 5 last year, the Supreme Court had stayed the decision of the Uttarakhand High Court. The High Court had ordered the removal of encroachment on 29 acres of railway land. The Central Government had filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the stay imposed by the Supreme Court on this decision, on which the Supreme Court has given the above instructions during the hearing.
What order was given to the Uttarakhand government?
A three-judge bench headed by Justice Suryakant has asked the state government to make a plan in this matter so that these people can be rehabilitated. The Supreme Court said that it is clear that these people were living on this land for decades and earning their livelihood. These people are human beings and the court cannot be cruel to them. The court said that a balanced approach is needed in this matter and the state needs to do something. The apex court has asked the state government to look for such land where infrastructure can be developed. According to the Railways, the people who have encroached are protesters. Most of the 50 thousand people are from the Muslim community.
Supreme Court asked this question to Railways
The Supreme Court has questioned the Railways whether it has done anything for the alleged encroachers. These people have been living here for decades. Legislative action has been initiated against them, have you issued any notice? If they are encroachers then notice should have been issued. You want them to vacate. But these people are also humans. During this, the Additional Solicitor General said that action is going on against them under the legal provision, which is pending. Justice Suryakant said that there are many people who are claiming that they have titles and documents. Even if it is assumed that these are encroachers, the question remains whether these people are humans. These people have been living here for decades. They have a permanent house. The court cannot be cruel but at the same time the court cannot encourage encroachment. As a state, you should do something in this matter because everything is happening in front of your eyes.
'Hundreds of families have been living there for decades'
The Supreme Court has said that hundreds of families have been living there for decades. The court has asked the Central Government and the Uttarakhand Government to ensure the identification of a place where the necessary infrastructure can be developed or the railway line can be shifted. The families who have been displaced should be identified. The proposed place should be identified where rehabilitation work can be done. The Supreme Court has asked the Chief Secretary of Uttarakhand to hold a meeting in which the Railway Authority and the Central Government's urban affairs officials should be included and in the meeting it should be decided how rehabilitation can be done and all this should be fair and acceptable to all parties. All these steps have been asked to be taken in four weeks and the date of 11 September has been fixed for the next hearing.
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