Rlys to clear encroachments, inhabitants to move HC

- SCR serve notices to the inhabitants and marks the houses for demolition drive by March end
- People making a beeline to submit applications in Housing for All scheme
- Residents demand rent assistance from govt similar to the provision planned for people, who occupied irrigation canals

Nellore: Even as the South Central Railway (SCR) decided to clear encroachments of railway lands spread across the city, people who occupied the lands are in dilemma and searching for immediate accommodation. Panic gripped all habitations as the railway officials served notices to the encroachers for voluntary demolition. There were encroachments from Padugupadu railway station to Vedayapalem railway station for seven to eight km of distance on the lands belonging to the SCR. The area along the track in the district headquarters was encroached in the late 80s due to expansion of city. Realty brokers sold these lands to the innocent rural migrants and economically poor assuring them that the railway officials would not take any action. Believing those words, poor people constructed houses on those lands. Now, there are no original encroachers as they sold those houses to third parties subsequently.

Recently, the Indian Railways cleared expansion proposals for third railway line between Gudur and Vijayawada and officials started pressurising the inhabitants to vacate immediately. A couple of months ago they served notices to the occupiers and numbered the houses for demolition drive making no provision for any rehabilitation measures. Recently, railway staff announced in the areas that they would raze the structures by end of this week and asked for voluntary clearance. This created panic among people and they approached the District Collector for immediate help.

Sources said the Collector had assured to give them ten days time and suggested them to submit applications to the Housing Corporation for some sort of land or house allocation under Housing for All scheme. He reportedly expressed his inability to stop the process as the encroachers have accepted notices. Now, some people are approaching the High Court for injection orders asking to stop the evacuation process till some arrangement is made by the government since they are poor and cannot get accommodation on a war-footing. Further, people ask for support from the government that assured to provide some rent assistance to the families similar to the arrangement made for encroachers of irrigation canals in city.

“When people who occupied irrigation canals were being provided rents till the government provides some rehabilitation. But, they are not considering our woes. This is biased and we demand for the same support,” said Kalesha from BV Nagar area. Now, people are thronging the Housing Corporation office for submitting applications.

P V Prasad