3,700 tenements along Kurla-Trombay rail line to get fresh eviction notices

The high court has directed CR authorities to explore rehabilitation options and provide interim financial assistance of ₹2,000 per month to affected families for six months

Mumbai: Central Railway (CR) authorities will begin serving eviction notices this week on nearly 3,700 unauthorised slum tenements along the Kurla-Trombay railway line, in pursuance with the Bombay High Court’s recent order allowing demolition of the tenements owing to safety concerns and to make way for railway infrastructure expansion.

On August 21, a 250-tonne hydraulic crane toppled onto slum tenements in Kurla’s Qureshi Nagar, bringing safety concerns into sharp focus (Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

“We will issue notices asking encroachers to vacate the premises within 30 days and take further action thereafter, in accordance with the court’s directions,” a CR official told Hindustan Times, requesting anonymity.

On October 7, the High Court, in response to a plea by seven affected tenement dwellers, observed that they were served with show-cause notices by the Railways in 2022 under section 4 of the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, asking why an eviction order should not be made against them.

The court directed CR authorities to issue fresh notices to occupants of the 3,762 tenements along the railway line. Accordingly, notices would be issued this week onwards stating the following, officials said: “You are hereby called upon to remove the said unauthorised structures situated on the said railway land and handover peaceful possession of the said laid to the Railway Administration within 07 days from the date of receipt of this notice, failing which the Railway Administration shall be forced to get the same removed as per law, at your cost and consequences thereof.”

The court also directed CR authorities to explore rehabilitation options and provide interim financial assistance of ₹2,000 per month to affected families for six months.

The Kurla-Trombay railway line is used only for freight movement, including oil tankers, and it serves industrial establishments and petroleum installations in the eastern suburbs. The slum tenements in question are located very close to the railway line and overhead electrical wires, posing a massive fire safety risk. The nearly 9,000 square metres of rail land occupied by the tenements is also required for laying the fifth and sixth railway lines between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and Kurla, officials said.

Abhijeet Kulkarni, president, Jaago Nehru Nagar Residents Welfare Association, said that they had been requesting the railways and the state government to raze the slum tenements for several years.

“This line is primarily used to transport chemicals, petroleum and other flammable products. The slums are located too close to the track and one spark could trigger a disaster,” Kulkarni said.

On August 21, a 250-tonne hydraulic crane toppled onto slum tenements in Kurla’s Qureshi Nagar, in which the 3,700 tenements are located, bringing safety concerns into sharp focus. The crane was involved in demolition of a nearby dilapidated building, and its collapse left 10 people injured, damaged several tenements, and brought down the overhead electrical wires, affecting freight traffic.