History of the legal struggle in Uttarakhand's Haldwani

There was a collective sigh of relief among nearly 50,000 protestors in Haldwani when the Supreme Court of India stayed Uttarakhand High Court order to demolish over 4,000 homes allegedly encroaching on Railways land.

The legal tussle is rooted in the railway line between Haldwani and Kathgodam, built by the British in the 1880s.

The Railways had moved the court, asserting that these 4,365 houses are illegal encroachments which the North Eastern Railways tried to remove in 2007. It claims that 10 acres of the 29 acres were removed in the exercise but fresh structures have come up this year.

Locals, who came on the streets weeks before the Supreme Court order, claim that their families have lived in the areas for nearly 100 years. The petitioners against the HC order claimed they are poor people who have been lawful residents of Mohalla Nai Basti and Line No 17 & 18, Banbhulpura (Azad Nagar) in Haldwani, Uttarakhand. They claimed to be in possession of valid documents that clearly establish title and valid occupation.

Also read | 'Can't uproot people overnight': Supreme Court stays eviction of over 4,000 houses in Haldwani

Where did it all begin?

According to a report by Hindustan Times, the British administration acquired land in Uttarakhand’s hilly Bhawar region, named it Haldwani Khas and moved residents of interior regions to the area in mid-1800s. In 1859, the land was taken to build the aforementioned railway line and it was finished by 1880.

News clippings from the time, viewed by HT, record British officials giving parcels of these lands to a businessman named Dan Singh of Pithoragarh in 1896, who subsequently sold it to different people.

In 1907, British officials entrusted the land to local municipal authorities as “nazul land” and disallowed its leasing or sale. This is the main point of contention in the current battle. ‘Nazul’ means land in Urdu, and petitioners believe they are leaseholders of the land. Land parcels are called “jaayajaad munjaapaata” left by a principal occupier.

Opposing this, the Uttarakhand HC in its December order stated, “If the records which are available with the local authorities are scrutinised, in fact, in Haldwani Khas, there happens to be no property, which could be termed as to be a nazul land on which the local body or the commissioner could have at all executed any of the leases, which could be said to be under law or in accordance with law.”

After the encroachment drive of 2007, Ravi Shankar Joshi filed a PIL in 2013 in the HC, alleging that 29 acres of Railway land around the Haldwani railway station, under the jurisdiction of the North Eastern Railway Zone, was encroached.

The High Court had ordered encroachment on this PIL in 2016 but to no avail. Joshi filed another plea in March 2022. The Railways then informed the court that 4,365 homes were found to be illegal on nearly 78 acres of railway land in the Banbhoolpura area.

The court then asked for formal documents to help determine ownership of documents. On December 20, 2022, the HC ruled in favour of the petitioner, and ordered the removal of the encroachments, giving residents a week to vacate.

After Railway notices came up on January 1 to vacate the homes, locals approached the apex court which put a stay on the demolition and barred any new construction.