Dehradun: Residents of Banbhoolpura area in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani on Monday moved the Supreme Court against a recent high court order for the removal of encroachments from 29 acres of railway land in the town.
Led by Congress MLA from Haldwani, Sumit Hridayesh, residents of the area approached the Supreme Court challenging the high court’s order, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary Qazi Nizamuddin said at a press conference here.
The apex court will hear the matter on January 5, he said.
The Congress also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami to take a humane view of the issue as the removal of encroachments from the land will render 4,500 people homeless.
“They have been living in the area for 70 years. There is a mosque, temple, overhead water tank, a PHC, a sewer line laid in 1970, two inter colleges, and a primary school,” Nizamuddin, a former MLA from Manglaur, said.
“We appeal to the prime minister, the railway ministry and the chief minister to take a humane view of the matter and stop the removal of so-called encroachments,” he said.
Nizamuddin also cast doubts over the railway’s claims on the land, saying portions of it were given on lease.
“If it was railways land, how could the state government have given it on the lease?” he said.
Thousands of residents of Banbhoolpura area had protested the removal of encroachments, saying it would render them homeless and jeopardize the future of their school-going children.
There are a large number of women, children and the elderly among those to be affected by the removal of encroachments.
The Uttarakhand High Court had on December 20 ordered the removal of encroachments from railway land in Banbhoolpura area of Haldwani after giving notice to the residents one week in advance.
Prayers to save their homes
Several videos emerged on Twitter showing distraught Muslim families, men, women and children, praying for a miracle. Their desperation to save their lifelong earnings and homes has reduced them to tears.
Congress MP Dr Mohammad Jawed wrote a letter to chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami asking for an alternate settlement bandobast.
When Siasat.com asked district magistrate Dhiraaj Singh Garbiyal if the local administration has provided or arranged for a permanent alternative residence for the over 4000 Muslim families, the IAS official simply passed the ball to the Indian Railways stating it is their department.
“This case was first presented in the Supreme Court of India which then directed the Uttarakhand High Court to look at the issue. The issue has been going on for almost a decade. In December 2022, the high court presented its order to evacuate the families within one week. It is a railway land and hence the railway authorities can answer your queries better,” the district magistrate said.
We spoke to the Additional Divisional Railway Manager (ADRM) Vivek Gupta who said that they are acting as per the high court’s order. “The disputed land has been under the Indian Railways for years. Earlier also tried to remove the families informing them about the illegalities. But they did not listen. Now the high court has given the order and nothing much can be done,” the senior railway official said.
(With inputs from PTI)
