A State without a heart

The Supreme Court order staying the eviction of 50,000 people living on ‘encroached land’ belonging to the Railways at Haldwani in Uttarakhand highlights many uncomfortable issues. One is the heartlessness and violation of human rights in ousting so many thousands of people from their homes without offering alternative accommodation. The second is the need for shelter, which is a basic need of people, especially in urban areas. The third is the state disregarding its own decisions and orders by such demolitions. The fourth is the communal angle, which is becoming clearer and more obvious in recent days, in such actions. The fifth is that such issues have to go to the highest court of the land for justice.

The Uttarakhand High Court had ordered last month that the “encroachers” should be evicted within seven days. The court’s order provides a temporary relief to the affected people and should provide a guideline for action in such situations.

The Railways maintain that about 29 acres of its land in Haldwani have been encroached upon, and there are 4,365 encroachers (families) on the land. It wants to oust them to build infrastructure. But most of those who are called encroachers have lived there for generations, some families for nearly a century. There are religious places, schools, banks, business establishments and residences on the land. The government has itself built hospitals and schools and provided electricity connections, ration cards and other facilities to the people. Many of them have also got ownership or possession records issued by the authorities. The court said human rights are involved in the matter and “there cannot be uprooting of 50,000 people overnight.” It is unfortunate that this had to be reiterated by the Supreme Court. The Uttarakhand government has said that it will go by the court’s order but unfortunately, it did not see the human angle in the situation earlier.

Most of the so-called encroachers are Muslims and their houses are at increasing risk of demolition in some states. The Haldwani situation is not new. All over the country, there are cases of the government or its agencies suddenly finding that their land is encroached upon and taking steps to evict the encroachers. Considerations based on class, caste and community play a big role in such actions. Poor people who occupy a few square feet of land because they don’t have a roof over their heads are often targeted. But the illegal occupation of land by the rich and well-connected sections is ignored altogether. The law and State policy should be just, fair and even-handed and should not be directed against some sections selectively and vindictively.