MINISTER OF RAILWAYS (SHRI D.V. SADANANDA GOWDA)
(a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF STARRED QUESTION No. 144 BY DR. VIRENDRA KUMAR AND SHRIMATI BUTTA RENUKA TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 17.07.2014 REGARDING ENCROACHMENT ON RAILWAY LAND
(a) : As on 31.3.2013, the total area of land under Railway network is 457689 hectare out of which approx. 47336 hectare is vacant and 942 hectare is encroached. The vacant land is mostly in the form of narrow strips along tracks, which is required for servicing and maintenance of track and other infrastructure.
The details of total Railway land, area lying vacant and area encroached with zone-wise break up are as under:-
Railway Total land Vacant land Encroachment occupied by (in hectares) (in hectares) Railway (in hectares) Central 28377 2719 59 Eastern 20950 1510 21 East Central 36299 4284 4 East Coast 13145 2232 18 Northern 41463 8319 215 North Central 17753 976 41 North Eastern 25644 5776 26 Northeast Frontier 44928 1114 160 North Western 24895 1706 18 Southern 26296 2651 62 South Central 32374 1349 12 South Eastern 42113 466 160 Southeast Central 21921 2979 43 South Western 17592 4131 16 Western 36646 6243 43 West Central 23256 476 41 Production unit 4037 405 3 Total 457689 47336 942
(b): Encroachments cause bottlenecks & safety hazards in train operations and difficulties in track maintenance which at times affects the line capacity and the throughput.
(c) & (d): Complete Land records are maintained, updated regularly and verified from revenue authorities periodically. Survey of encroachments is also carried out periodically and the details of encroachments and their removal are recorded. Encroachers on railway land are dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1971 (PPE Act, 1971) as amended from time to time. Actual eviction of unauthorized occupants is carried out with the assistance of State Government and police.
The details of land retrieved after removing encroachments during the last three years and the current year, zone-wise, are as under:-
Railway Area retrieved from encroachment (in Hectare) 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 (till May, 2014) Central 2.09 2.47 0 0 Eastern 0.12 0 0.03 0.03 East Central 0.69 0.08 0.21 0 East Coast 13.94 0 0 0 Northern 4.87 0.77 4.39 0 North Central 0.27 8.13 0.21 0.01 North Eastern 4.42 0 0.22 0.06 Northeast Frontier 6.22 1.04 13.04 0.10 North Western 0 0.79 0.57 0 Southern 0.04 0.26 0.03 0.40 South Central 1.18 0.52 0.25 0 South Eastern 1.51 1.46 0.91 0 Southeast Central 5.87 0.05 0 0 South Western 0 0 0 0.05 Western 0 5.31 1.07 0 West Central 0.07 0.18 3.62 0 TOTAL 41.29 21.06 24.55 0.65
(e): The vacant railway land which exists in the form of narrow strip along track is used for servicing and maintenance of track, bridges and other railway infrastructure and is also utilized for execution of various infrastructural projects for meeting future growth need of Railways and include projects like doubling, traffic facilities, Rail Coach and Component factories, etc. The vacant land, which is not required by Railways for its immediate operational needs, is utilized for commercial development, wherever feasible, in order to mobilize additional financial resources through Rail Land Development Authority. Regular measures are taken to protect railway land from encroachment which include, licensing of land to Railway employees for grow more food (GMF) scheme etc., provision of boundary wall, tree plantation at vulnerable locations.
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