High Court allows removal of huts along the Kurla–Trombay railway line, with 30 days' notice

Mumbai: Central Railway may now clear unauthorised hutments from the ten-metre safety zone along the Kurla–Trombay railway line, the Bombay High Court has ruled. Seven residents of Rajiv Gandhi Nagar in Kurla East had challenged the action; a bench headed by Justice Bharati Dangre rejected their petition.

The court said encroachments in the railway's safety zone hamper railway operations and put the lives of the people living there at risk. Keeping railway land free of encroachments is the railway administration's job, it said, and the blame cannot be put on local authorities alone. Although proceedings under the Public Premises Act became final in 2022, the court ordered fresh notices giving residents 30 days to leave. If they do not, the railway may evict them with police protection.

Before any demolition, the Mumbai Suburban collector must record the identities and details of the families living in the huts. The court ordered ex-gratia help of ₹2,000 a month for six months for each demolished structure, with the cost shared by the railway and the state.

The collector and the Slum Rehabilitation Authority must also look, within six months, for housing options for eligible families under government schemes, including the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. Residents cannot insist on new homes at the same spot from which they are removed, the court made clear.

Sources: Free Press Journal; Lokmat Times