Lok Sabha Question No. 56 (STARRED), answered on 2022-07-20
Subject: Slum Dwellers on Railway Land
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Locket Chatterjee, Manoj Kishorbhai Kotak

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 56 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.07.2022

## SLUM DWELLERS ON RAILWAY LAND

- †*56. MS. LOCKET CHATTERJEE: SHRI MANOJ KOTAK:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Railways has removed railway track side encroachments by undertaking demolition drives in the country;
- (b)  if  so,  the  details  of  the  demolition  drives  undertaken  in  the  country especially in Mumbai, zone-wise;
- (c) the number of slum dwellers removed/evicted from railway land during the last three years and till date, State-wise, including in Mumbai since the announcement of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY); and
- (d)  the  number  of  slum  dwellers  rehabilitated  after  being  removed  from railway  land  till  date,  State-wise,  particularly  in  Mumbai  and  Amravati under the said scheme?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, COMMUNICATIONS AND

ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

(a) to (d): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF STARRED QUESTION  NO.  56  BY  MS.  LOCKET  CHATTERJEE  AND  SHRI  MANOJ KOTAK  TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  20.07.2022  REGARDING SLUM DWELLERS ON RAILWAY LAND

(a)  to  (c):  Removal  of  encroachments,  which  includes  slums  on  Railway land and track side encroachments, by Railways is a continuous process. During  the  last  three  years,  38.64  Hectare  of  encroached  Railway  land (including slums) has been retrieved from encroachment. The state-wise data of removal of encroachment is not maintained. However, the details of zonal railway-wise demolition drives conducted during the last 3 years and upto June, 2022 are as under:-

| Zonal Railway      |   No. of drives conducted |   No. of encroachments removed |
|--------------------|---------------------------|--------------------------------|
| Central            |                        87 |                           1544 |
| Eastern            |                       651 |                           2662 |
| East Central       |                        89 |                           2749 |
| East Coast         |                       151 |                            949 |
| Northern           |                       162 |                           2233 |
| North Central      |                       128 |                            369 |
| North Eastern      |                        40 |                           1623 |
| Northeast Frontier |                       159 |                            593 |
| North Western      |                         8 |                             22 |
| Southern           |                       281 |                            396 |
| South Central      |                        12 |                            486 |
| South Eastern      |                        65 |                            492 |
| South East Central |                        26 |                            401 |
| South Western      |                         0 |                              0 |
| Western            |                       335 |                           9780 |
| West Central       |                        20 |                            317 |
| Total              |                      2214 |                          24616 |

Further, in the city of Mumbai which comes under the jurisdiction of Central and Western Railways, a total of 322 No. of demolition drives were conducted and 6636 No. of encroachments have been removed since the announcement of PMAY i.e. from the year 2015 to June, 2022.

Implementation of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), a scheme of Ministry  of  Housing  &  Urban  Affairs,  is  not  feasible  on  Railway  land  as Railway's land, which is mostly in the form of narrow strips along tracks, is required for Railway's operational and infrastructural needs.

(d):  There is no provision of rehabilitation in Railway Act whose Section 147  only  provides  for  eviction  of  unauthorized  occupants  from  railway's land. Housing is a State Subject and responsibility for providing alternative sites for rehabilitation / resettlement as well as bearing cost for the same, vests with the State Governments or the Urban Local Bodies concerned.  However,  in  the  case  of  Mumbai  Urban  Transport  Project (MUTP)  project  partly  funded  by  World  Bank,  Railways,  as  one  time exception,  is  sharing  the  cost  of  Rehabilitation  of  all  Project  Affected Persons including encroacher with the State Government of Maharashtra on 50:50 basis primarily as World Bank stipulated this as a pre-condition for the loan. Accordingly, 361 slum dwellers have been rehabilitated under this project in Mumbai.

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