The Supreme Court on Wednesday observed that encroachers are also humans and directed the Center, Uttarakhand government and Railways to convene a meeting and come up with a rehabilitation policy for those families who will be displaced from land adjoining Haldwani Railway Station. The top court pulled up the Railways for filing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) to get an order from high court to remove the people who have been living at the disputed land for years.
The top court was hearing the petition challenging the Uttarakhand High Court’s order directing removal of unauthorised occupants from the railway land, adjoining Haldwani Railway Station.
A three-judge bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan heard the matter and noted that 4365 families involving over 50,000 people are living on the "encroached land."
Did Railways issue Notice to Encroachers? Asks Supreme Court
The bench at the outset of the hearing pulled up the Indian Railways for filing a PIL to remove the encroachers.
"You ride on the back of a PIL and get an order from the high court?" the bench asked.
ASG Aishwarya Bhatti appearing for Railways told the court that they had to move court as they did not have sufficient help from the administration.
"That is why you filed a PIL?...you are dealing with human beings. The question is that these are all questions of fact where a reasonable opportunity could be given to those claiming that they have relevant documents...These are the issues where quasi-judicial proceedings can be established but to say that under Writ proceedings..." the bench remarked.
Justice Kant told the counsel for state and Railways that the ultimate thing is that they are human beings, and they have been living for decades...courts cannot be ruthless, the Courts also need to maintain a balance and the State needs to do something."
ASG Bhatti said that the land is of critical requirement for the railways and the railway does not have any authority to order rehabilitation.
"The plan envisaged like Vande Bharat...we do not have the space without removing the encroachments," Bhatti told the court.
Justice Kant at this point asked, "How many people will be affected because you need only a strip of land?"
The State Counsel said that only 13 persons are having free holder rights.
Justice Kant at this juncture said, "We are talking about the people who have been there for decades...before or after independence...there are families living there...What have you been doing? Why should we not hold your collectors responsible? If you want to have this strip of land, first tell us how much land you (require) and then how you will rehabilitate."
Keep this issue away from local vultures
Justice Kant further said that it is advisable that the issue is kept away from the local vested interest, where the ultimate victim will be these poor people...many vultures will come out.."
At the contention that it is a railway land, Justice Kant said that the Railway has on record said before this court that they are not aware of their own lands.
Directions To Centre and State Of Uttarakhand
The top court noted that submissions of Railways that the encroached land is required for the expansion of the Haldwani Railway Station and without these facilities the Haldwani railway station cannot be made functional.
The court said, "It transpires during the hearing that approx 30.04 hectares of land owned by the railways is claimed to have been encroached upon. 4,365 houses, including over 50,000 persons, are statedly living at the site."
The top court issued the following directions to State of Uttarakhand, Centre and Railways:
1) In the first place identify the strip of land essentially required for the purpose of shifting the Railway line.
2) Identify families to be vacated from that strip of land.
3) Formulate a policy on where the affected families can be rehabilitated. "Since, point three requires policy intervention we direct chief secretaries to convene a meet with authorities including Centre and state ministers to evolve a rehabilitation scheme." the court ordered.
In January 2023, the Supreme Court stayed the order of the Uttarakhand High Court for the removal of the alleged unauthorised occupants from the Railway land, adjoining Haldwani Railway Station, known as Gafoor Basti. The top court said that there cannot be an uprooting of fifty thousand people in seven days.
It maybe recalled that this land falls in the same Banbhoolpura area which saw riots in Februray 2023 after demolition drive of an “illegal” madrasa and a mosque by the municipal council.