Supreme Court Grants Uttarakhand Two Months for Rehabilitation Proposal Amid Railway Land Dispute

The Supreme Court has given the Uttarakhand government two months to propose a concrete plan for rehabilitating 50,000 people facing displacement due to alleged illegal occupation of railway land in Haldwani. The state and railways are identifying necessary land, while discussions on financial arrangements for relocation continue.

The Supreme Court has granted the Uttarakhand government two months to submit a detailed proposal for the rehabilitation of 50,000 residents who might be displaced from allegedly encroached railway land in Haldwani.

During the hearing, the state government informed a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and Ujjal Bhuyan about ongoing efforts to identify land needed for a public sector transport project. Senior advocate Balbir Singh noted that around 4,500 families reside on the disputed land and emphasized the need for additional time to finalize financial arrangements for their relocation.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, representing the affected families, argued that the retaining wall damaged by previous floods has been reconstructed, alleviating flooding concerns. However, the railways insist on relocating families to facilitate new infrastructure development.

(With inputs from agencies.)