SC Put Break on Bulldozers in Haldwani, Saying 50 Thousand People can’t be Uprooted Over Night

Supreme Court has put brakes on railway bulldozers in Haldwani. Supreme Court Stayed Uttarakhand High Court order that cleared the eviction of people who live in nearly 4,000 homes on railway land. Supreme Court said “thousands of people can’t be uprooted overnight”.

The orders comes as a major relief for residents who have been holding candle marches, sits-ins and prayers to stop the eviction.

Earlier, the lawyer for the petitioners, Colin Gonsalves told the Supreme Court that people have been living on that land for many decades. Apart from kutcha-pucca houses on the ground, there are many school-college mosques. Sewer line has been laid by the Municipal Corporation and some people have also got the lease deed of the land done.

Besides houses – nearly half of the families claim to have land lease – the area even has several government and private schools, a bank, two overhead water tanks, 11 mosques, and four temples, besides shops and Houses are, built over decades.
Supreme Court Asked the governmet Counsel whether they have any rehablitation scheam, because 50 thousand peopel can not be up rooted over night.

The lawyers for the government and the railways told the Supreme Court that the original case started with illegal mining and then escalated to illegal encroachment. Only then it came to know that 29 acres of railway land has been illegally encroached upon. All the legal process has been completed to remove this encroachment, and it was in the knowledge of the occupants that the illegal encroachment was to be removed. But they are not willing to remove illegal structures from railway’s land.

Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said that this is a practical problem and the solution should come in the right way. That’s why the encroachment campaign should be stopped and the order of the High Court is being stayed. The next hearing on this matter will be on February 7. The Supreme Court issued notice and directed all concerned to file their reply on or before February 7.