Eviction drive in Uttarakhand's Haldwani, a result of a High Court order based on 2007 issue
The railway land encroachment issue in Haldwani was raised in 2007 when railway officials conducted eviction operations for land segmentation and clearance of encroachment but it resulted in fights, arson, riots demonstrations, and stone-pelting.
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The Uttarakhand High Court has recently ordered the authorities to evict the unauthorized occupants and vacate the premises from the railway land adjoining Haldwani Railway Station, commonly called Gaffur Basti. Accordingly, the action was initiated on December 29 after providing residents with a one-week prior notice.
Thousands of people have taken to the streets with an aim "to protect their homes" after the eviction notice was served to over 4,000 families living in the area which belonged to the Railway authorities.
While the residents of the premises claim that the land has belonged to them for nearly a decade, the Railways told the court that none of the encroachers could present documents proving that it was their property. Further, the state government also decided not to intervene in the decision of the Railways.
1. This is not an eviction drive that is being carried out at the whim of the administration. The authorities have been trying to evict land encroachers since 2007 – that is 15 years.
— Modi Bharosa (@ModiBharosa) January 4, 2023
2. The eviction drive is a result of a High Court order
It is pertinent to mention that this matter has been raised in 2007 i.e. 15 years as of now. At that time, the railway officials had conducted eviction operations for land segmentation and clearance of encroachment. The residents of Haldwani, who are wailing and crying today, indulged in fights and arson, as well as demonstrations and stone-pelting.
The Uttarakhand High Court had previously asked the North Eastern Railway administration to remove encroachments on railway land in an order dated November 9, 2016. In the aftermath of the ruling, about 4,365 notifications were issued that year.
After dismissing the state’s review plea, the court ordered the expulsion of informal settlers within four weeks in January 2017. The Supreme Court, however, postponed the ruling for three months, citing the fact that the High Court had not heard the petitioners before issuing the eviction order. The apex court had asked HC to decide their pleas in 3 months – this was in 2017. It was a couple of weeks ago that the High Court passed the judgement to remove encroachments from Haldwani.
However, families residing in the Haldwani area which is facing demolition have claimed that they have been living there for over 40 years, and they will be left homeless if they are forced out of their houses.
Meanwhile, a drone survey was conducted by the Railway officials who are planning to okay the demolition of the illegal encroachments on their land in a few days. The drone survey was conducted to demarcate the encroached area on the Railway land in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani, as per the authorities.
