Out of over 13,000 illegal slum structures located on the railway land of Central Railway’s Mumbai division, nearly 5,000 structures are located in the safety zones or within 10 metres from the track, FPJ has learnt.
Experts say that these illegal structures are 'safety hazards' for train operations and need to be removed on an urgent basis.
"The applicable law all over India is that the area 30 metres from the outermost track is Railway Reservation. However, in the case of Mumbai suburban, another stipulation is that 10 metres from the outermost track should be treated as the safety zone. No encroachment is permitted within this 10 metre to ensure that underground cables are not damaged, drainage is not blocked and day-to-day maintenance is not hampered. This rule was notified in consultation with state government and local bodies in the late 1980s," Subodh Jain, former General Manager of Central Railway told FPJ.
"If any soft or hard encroachment exists in the safety area, it needs to be cleared urgently because it's a clear cut violation of safety norms of Railways " added Jain.
According to senior Central Railway officials, over 1,500 illegal structures (huts) located between Byculla, Sandhurst Road, Masjid and Dockyard Road fall under the safety zone.
Apart from that, around 2,200 illegal structures located in the Kurla area including the Kurla-Trombay line, and around 200 illegal structures located in Santoshimata Nagar of Dombivali also fall in the safety zone.
Over 1,500 illegal structures have also been identified in the safety zone near Lonavala which is part of CRs Mumbai Division. "These slums next to rail lines are not just a concern for the authorities, but a safety hazard too," said a CR official.
"Slums are also a nuisance in most areas as people spillover on the track and make it dirty. They throw garbage and also use it as an open toilet," said officials. Besides, stone-throwing incidents were also recorded in these areas.
In December 2021, the Railway Board directed all zonal railways to remove the encroachment. After that, evacuation notices have been served to the residents of illegal slums located on railway land, but due to political interference, the evacuation process lost its pace.
According to senior officials of the railway, a joint meeting will be likely to organize on February 13th in Mumbai in this regard.
Apart from railway officials, local leaders, representatives of state government will be also present on the occasion.
Earlier, Minister of State social justice and empowerment Ramdas Athwale advised railway not to take action against those who residing in slums of railway land for time being.
Earlier, in December 2021, during a hearing of illegal encroachment related matter, Supreme Court directed the railway to initiate Civil/Criminal action against the unauthorized occupants on the railway property immediately as it is brought to the notice of the concerned officials of the Railways.
Graphics :
Total number of illegal structures on the railway land of CRs Mumbai Division--13839
Total number of illegal structures in the safety zone--5698
Ekata Nagar 575
Chole Nagar 150
Sanjay Gandhi Nagar 800
Mohan Nagar 225
Rajiv Gandhi Nagar 1500
Suman Nagar 550
Santoshi Mata Nagar 200
Lonavala section 1698
