There is a need to be cautious of those encroaching on railway land.
Rapid steps are being taken by the Central Government in this regard.
The government has told Parliament that it is not possible to give any fixed timeline for removal of encroachments from railway land, given the complex nature of such cases which often require liaising with state and local administrations to maintain law and order.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav gave this information in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha. He said the national transporter is making continuous efforts to remove encroachments and a total of 33.67 hectares of land has been taken back in the five years between 2018-19 and 2022-23.
Congress MP Rajni Ashokrao Patil had asked the minister what steps have been taken to deal with encroachment on about 782.81 hectares of railway land. Is the government collaborating with local bodies and authorities to deal with such encroachments, especially in metro cities? Patil also wanted to know whether the government has set any deadline for removing all encroachments except those pending in courts? In response, Vaishnav said, ‘Railways conducts regular surveys to identify encroachments and takes consistent action to remove them.
If the encroachments in the form of slums, huts and illegal settlements are of temporary nature, they are removed in consultation with the Railway Protection Force and with the assistance of local civil authorities.’
Eviction with the assistance of state government and police
The Railway Minister said, ‘For old encroachments, action is taken under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1971 (PPE Act, 1971), as amended from time to time. The actual eviction of unauthorized occupants is done with the assistance of the state government and the police.
According to the minister, the Railways aims to ultimately remove all encroachments on its land and properties by following due process of law.
“Given the complex nature of individual cases of encroachment, it is not possible to give a specific timeline,” he said. Such cases often require dealing with state and local administration to maintain law and order.’