The Supreme Court has ordered the eviction of over 48,000 slum clusters from safety zone along railway tracks in Delhi.
The South Delhi Municipal Corporation the Railways, and the Delhi government have been asked to prepare a comprehensive action plan within 3 months to remove encroachments next to 140 km of railway tracks out of which about 70 km of track is affected by large jhuggie jhopri clusters and execute the plan in a phased manner, according to the court order.
“No interference, political or otherwise, should be there and no court shall grant any stay with respect to the removal of the encroachments,” the Supreme Court said in its order as a similar order by Delhi High Court in 2018, as well as a Task Force set up by the Railways, could not be implemented due to political opposition.
The Supreme Court has also directed the Railways and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCDs) to remove the garbage piled upon and near the railway track and ordered for a meeting next week among Railways, Delhi government, municipal corporations and the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Trust to discuss the starting of garbage removal works immediately
“70 per cent of the requisite amount shall be borne by the Railways and 30 per cent by the state government. The manpower is to be provided by the SDMC, Railways and agencies available with the government, free of cost, and they will not charge it from each other. The SDMC, Railways and other agencies to ensure that their contractors do not put the waste/garbage on the sides of the railway tracks,” the order read.
The decision has come after the hearing of a report filed the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA).
