The Supreme Court on Wednesday detected the Uttarakhand government to come up, within two months, with a rehabilitation scheme for the people who are seeking to be evicted from railway land in the Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani.
The direction to Uttarakhand government came as a bench comprising Justice Surya Kant, Justice Dipankar Datta, and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan was informed by the State government that steps are being taken in terms of the last order of the court.
Seeking two months’ time to place before the court a suitable rehabilitation scheme or a proposal, the Uttarakhand government informed the bench that a joint meeting was convened between the Ministry of Housing, State authorities, and the Railways to prepare a rehabilitation plan.
Adjoining the matter, the bench asked the Uttarakhand government to file a concrete proposal for rehabilitation.
Earlier, the top court had stated that the authorities should ensure rehabilitation of people before evicting them.
It had said that thousands of residents can’t be uprooted overnight while staying the Uttarakhand High Court’s order directing the State authorities to remove encroachments from railway land in Haldwani’s Banbhoolpura area.
The top court had said that there has to be segregation of people who have no right on the land and the need to rehabilitate them 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 them.
The Uttarakhand High Court on December 20, 2023, had ordered the removal of encroachments from railway land in the Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani after giving a week’s notice to the residents seeking to be uprooted.
Headed by Congress MLA from Haldwani, Sumit Hridayesh, residents of the area had approached the Supreme Court challenging the High Court’s order. Another petition has also been 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.
The residents, who sought to be evicted, in their petition have stated that they are poor people who have been lawful residents of Mohalla Nai Basti, Haldwani district for more than 70 years.
The petitioners have stated that the names of local residents are entered in the municipal records relating to house tax and that they have been paying house tax regularly for years.
There are five government schools, one hospital, and two overhead water tanks in the area, says the petition. The plea has further stated that “the long settled physical possession of the petitioners and their ancestors, some even prior to the date of Indian independence, has been recognised by State and its agencies and they have been given gas and water connections and even Aadhaar card numbers accepting their residential addresses.”