The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the eviction drive at Uttarakhand's Haldwani, saying that 50,000 people can’t be uprooted overnight.
The apex court issued notice to the Uttarakhand government and India Railways on the pleas challenging Uttarakhand High Court’s decision ordering the State authorities to remove encroachments from land owned by the Railways in Haldwani’s Banbhoolpura area.
According to the railways, there are 4,365 encroachers on the land. More than 4,000 families, of whom the majority are Muslims, reportedly face eviction after the High Court ordered demolition of ‘constructions in Railway land'.
A bench of justices S K Kaul and A S Oka observed that it is a "human issue" and some workable solution needs to be found.
The top court has posted the matter for further hearing on February 7.
The high court on December 20 last year had ordered demolition of constructions on encroached railway land at Banbhoolpura in Haldwani.
It had directed that a week's notice be given to the encroachers after which the encroachments should be demolished.
The residents have submitted in their plea that the high court has gravely erred in passing the impugned order despite being aware of the fact that proceedings with regard to title of the residents, including the petitioners, are pending before the district magistrate.
There are religious places, schools, business establishments and residences on an area spread over 29 acres of alleged encroached railway land in Banbhoolpura.
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