782 hectares of Railways land beneath encroachment, 6.84 hectares retrieved until December 2022: Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that of the as much as 4.86 lakh hectares of land that the Railways owns, 782 hectares are encroached upon and that in 2022–23 (up until December 31) round 6.84 hectares of land was retrieved.

As of March 31, 2022, Indian Railways owned 4.86 lakh hectares of land in whole. The largest landholding is held by the Northeast Frontier Railway Zone, which is predicated in Assam and contains sure districts in japanese Bihar and northern West Bengal. Northern Railways (44,005.53 hectares) and Southeastern Railways (42,850.92 hectares) are the following largest landholders.

A Rajya Sabha query requested if the Railways had estimated the income loss because of the encroachment of its territory and what corrective measures it had taken for a similar.

In response, Minister Vaishnaw stated that encroachments sometimes decreased each line capability and throughput since they created bottlenecks, security dangers throughout practice operations, and upkeep challenges. This finally had an influence on the Railways’ income, which was possible to estimate.

It is notable that the Railways issued a Master Circular in 2022 that established a framework for the administration of railway land, together with the leasing of the identical for operations associated to railway working, public infrastructure, authorities places of work, hospitals, and Kendriya Vidyalayas.

“The Railways conduct routine surveys to identify encroachments and take steps for their removal in order to prevent/remove encroachments. Temporary encroachments are cleared away with the help of the Railway Protection Force. According to the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act of 1971, action is taken for old encroachments when the party is not amenable to persuasion,” the reply said.

Railway land space beneath encroachment (Image through indianrailways.gov.in)

Process of clearing encroachments on Railway lands

The removing of outdated or everlasting buildings often results in disputes. The Ministry of Railways follows a predetermined process since sustaining legislation and order is a state duty and no authorities entity is allowed to willfully demolish human settlements, even when they’re on their property.

Railways take motion beneath the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1971 for older encroachments if the settlers are usually not receptive to persuasion (PPE Act, 1971).

The state authorities and Railways ship eviction notices to the settlers when persuasion, negotiation, and all different makes an attempt towards a peaceable decision are unsuccessful. In many such circumstances together with the latest Haldwani encroachment case the encroachers first get a short lived halt to the demolition or eviction effort whereas the courts hear either side. The state authorities and the police assist in finishing up the precise eviction of unauthorized occupants.

79 acres of railway land encroached in Banbhoolpura, Haldwani

Notably, on February 3, the minister of railways said that 79 acres of railway land had been encroached upon in Banbhoolpura, Uttarakhand’s Haldwani and that the ministry has licensed copies of land information that had been verified by the state’s income division to substantiate its declare on the land.

According to a written reply to a query within the Rajya Sabha, Ashwini Vaishnaw stated, “Indian Railways owns about 79 acres of Railway land at Banbhoolpura, Haldwani in Uttarakhand.”

When requested for proof of the Railways’ declare to the land, Vaishnaw responded, “Railway has certified copy of land records, i.e. Khasra, Khatauni & land plans officially verified by State Revenue department.”

The State Government and Railway accomplished a joint survey of the world in 2017, he continued, and a replica of that survey can be accessible.

The minister said that 29 acres of encroached railway land had been initially claimed by Railways. However, he added, “79 acres of railway land were found encroached during the joint survey by State Government and Railways in 2017”.

Vaishnaw added that Railways had submitted two affidavits to the Uttarakhand High Court in Nainital in regards to the matter.

He said, “Railways has filed two affidavits in the matter in 2015 and 2017 respectively at Hon’ble High Court, Nainital. The affidavits are dated 04.11.2015 and 05.01.2017.”

Moreover, the minister added that in these affidavits, the Uttarakhand High Court was requested to subject instructions to the District Administration to help the Railways to establish the encroachers and supply pressure in the course of the eviction processes.

Following this, protests erupted in opposition to the clearance of unlawful encroachments on railway lands following the High Court order. The protests began after Uttarakhand High Court, on December 26, 2022, ordered the authorities to instantly evict the unlawful occupants to vacate the land owned by the Indian Railways.  

The Supreme Court, nonetheless, in January had put a keep on the matter of the removing of encroachment from Indian Railways land in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, saying {that a} workable association must be devised. Staying the Uttarakhand High Court order to evict greater than 4000 households who’re illegally encroaching on railway land, the apex courtroom bench comprising Justices SK Kaul and AS Oka additionally barred any new development or growth on the land until the matter is resolved.