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The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted two months to the Uttarakhand government to finalise the rehabilitation scheme for the people who were asked to vacate the encroachments from railway land in the Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani.
A bench of justices, Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan, were informed by the Uttarakhand government that steps are being taken in terms of the last order. A joint meeting was convened between the Ministry of Housing, state authorities and railways, said the Uttarakhand government, while seeking two months to place a suitable rehabilitation scheme or proposal. The bench then adjourned the hearing to enable Uttarakhand to file a concrete proposal for rehabilitation. Earlier, the top court had stated that the authorities should ensure rehabilitation of people before evicting them. The court said that thousands can't be uprooted overnight while putting a stay on the Uttarakhand High Court's decision ordering the state authorities to remove encroachments from railway land in Haldwani's Banbhoolpura area. The apex court had said that there has to be segregation of people who have no right on the land and the need for rehabilitation while recognising the need for railways. Noting that people have been living there for decades, the bench had said there should be measures for rehabilitation since the issue involves a human angle. Indian Railways has maintained that this strip of land belongs to the railways. They (residents) claimed that it is their land; they are not asking for rehabilitation, it had said. The Uttarakhand High Court had on December 20 ordered the removal of encroachments from railway land in the Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani after giving notice to the residents one week in advance. Led by Congress MLA from Haldwani, Sumit Hridayesh, residents of the area had approached the Supreme Court challenging the High Court's order. Another petition was also filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan. A total of 4,365 encroachments will be removed from the area. Those facing eviction have been living on the land for many decades. Residents had protested against the removal of encroachments from railway land in compliance with a High Court order. The petition highlighted that the petitioners are poor people who have been lawful residents of Mohalla Nai Basti, Haldwani district for more than 70 years. The petition stated that the names of residents are entered in the municipal records of the house tax register and that they have been paying the house tax regularly for years. There are five government schools, one hospital and two overhead water tanks in the area. It is further stated that "the long settled physical possession of the petitioners and their ancestors, some even before the date of Indian independence, has been recognised by the state and its agencies and they have been given gas and water connections and even Aadhaar card numbers accepting their residential addresses." (ANI)
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