Nagaland: NF Railway issues eviction notice to encroachers spread across 30 hectares in Dimapur

Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR) has eyed carrying out eviction on the unauthorized construction and occupation of railway land in and around Dimapur.

Notably, the NFR has issued notices to unauthorized occupants of railway lands in Dimapur measuring approximately a little over 30 hectares in order to begin laying of double track and construction of modern facilities.

The notices to the unauthorized occupants were pasted in and around the Railway Station Dimapur for public viewing. 

The NFR had issued show cause notices to the unauthorized occupants under Form ‘A’ on November 14, 2022, to submit a response to the show cause to Estate Officer, NF Railway Lumding on or before November 29, 2022, and to be present for hearing fixed at a mentioned time on December 6,2022.

However, after the expiry of the date for responding to the show cause notice, the Estate Officer, NF Railway Lumding then on December 16, 2022 issued another order under Sub-section (1) of Section (5) of the Public Premises (Eviction of unauthorized Occupation) Act 1971 asking all occupants of NF Railway land to vacate the area occupied within 15 days from the date of publication of the order (16/12/2022).

As per the NFR vacation notices, the occupants were given time till December 31, 2022 to comply with the order. However, till date, no response has been forthcoming.

Sources said that the areas under occupation belong to the NFR since the 1900s but which were given on lease by the NFR to the occupiers. However, it was disclosed, the lessees later allegedly managed to obtain permanent pattas for the lands over the decades from the local administration despite these clearly being railway land.

The magnitude of unauthorized occupation of railway land is huge in terms of several multi-storey buildings that have been constructed since the late 70s which also include a petrol pump and the godown besides the RCC building along erstwhile Fullerganj area now known as G.S. Road and also in and around nearby areas.