Mumbai: The railway administration has become strict regarding the encroachment on hundreds of hectares of railway land in Mumbai and suburban areas. The notice given by the Central Railway Administration to vacate the houses on the side of the track has created a stir.
It has been told that following the directions of the Supreme Court, the Central Railway has started issuing notices to slum dwellers settled on railway land in Kalyan (East), Kopar, Dombivali, Ambivali. According to the Central Railway Administration, where many extended plans are getting affected due to encroachment around the track, there is also a problem in the operation of trains.
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huts settled for many years
Railway plots along the tracks in Mumbai and the suburbs have been inhabited for decades by people. From Kurla to Ghatkopar, Bhandup, Mulund and Thane in Mumbai, a large number of huts are settled on railway lands. These also caused delays while building the Kurla-Thane 5th 6th Line. The project could start only after the slum dwellers were rehabilitated with the help of the state government. After this, the encroachment on Thane-Diva, Thane-Airoli road also had to be removed. There has also been a lot of encroachment on railway land on Kasara and Karjat road ahead of Kalyan. Suresh Yadav, a slum dweller of Kalwa said that people have been settled here since 1995.
Politician and Patwari in encroachment
However, encroachment on railway lands is not a new thing. For the past several decades, vacant plots of railways have been occupied. A senior Central Railway official said that the biggest hand in encroachment on railway lands is also of local politicians and patwaris, although it is the responsibility of the railways to save their land. In some places, railways have now started the work of building boundary walls on their remaining lands.
Letter to Minister of State for Railways for Rehabilitation: Dr. Shinde, MP
After getting railway notice to slum dwellers in suburban Kalyan area, MP Dr. Shrikant Shinde said that no railway project is going to stop due to encroachment, but slum dwellers have been settled for the last 30-40 years. They should be properly rehabilitated. MP Dr. Shinde has given a letter to the Minister of State for Railways, Raosaheb Danve in this matter and has also discussed over the phone. He said that in view of the ongoing third wave of Corona, it would not be appropriate to make the slum dwellers homeless in such a situation. The Minister of State for Railways has also assured to convene a meeting of the concerned in this regard next week. MP Shinde has also given a letter to the Central Railway Administration.