Rly land tresspass: HC summons GRP chief

MUMBAI, January 19: The Bombay High Court today summoned the Special Inspector General of the Government Railway Police S S Suradkar to b...

MUMBAI, January 19: The Bombay High Court today summoned the Special Inspector General of the Government Railway Police S S Suradkar to be present in the court on February 2 to answer questions regarding action against encroachments on railway land.

The division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ashok Agarwal and Justice A P Shah issued the summons to Suradkar following a hearing on a public interest petition filed by Citizens for a Just Society CJS alleging wilful negligence of duty by railway officials. The petitioner had also claimed that the railway authorities were guilty of not removing the slums which 8220;exist at handshaking distance8221; to the tracks.

The division bench also categorically warned the Central and Western suburban railway authorities to implement the provisions of the Indian Railway Act and remove all encroachments within 10 metres from the rail tracks.

Counsel for CJS, B K Subbarao today said the claims by the CR and WR authorities that they were unable to remove the slums due togovernment policy were totally false. 8220;The Railway Act clearly empowers the railway officials to remove the slums near the track. The act allows them to arrest any person trespassing the safety zone near railway land. Therefore, state government8217;s policy to rehabilitate the slums cannot obstruct the railway8217;s duties. The railway land, which is a Central government property, cannot be governed by state-level legislations.8221;

Subbarao informed that government policy advocates rehabilitation of slums erected before January 1995. However, this cut-off date cannot be used by railway authorities as an excuse to allow unauthorised encroachments, he added.

Counsel for the railways, D Y Chandrachud said the CR or WR officials have no intention of regularising the slums near the railway tracks. However, we depend on the state government to monitor the encroachments and remove them within reasonable time.

Justice Shah said the cut-off date of January 1, 1995 is no valid reason for non-removal of encroachments andboth the WR and CR authorities should henceforth remove all encroachments near the tracks and should not allow any new ones. He said the state government should assist the railways in this work, notwithstanding the rehabilitation policy. He warned the government against granting of no-objection certificates to slumdwellers near the railway tracks.

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In yet another petition, filed by Kamayani Mahabal, alleging poor standards of medical facilties at the railway stations on the WR and CR tracks, the high court today asked the state government to conduct periodical inspection of facilties at the railway stations.

He asked government pleader R V Govilkar to institute a panel of three doctors, one of who will regularly visit railway stations without intimation. The doctors will report to the court once in six months. The court ordered the doctors8217; inspection in connection with the railway8217;s claim of avalability of stretchers, wheel-chairs and first-aid boxes at every station.