The Hindu, Nov 19 2015, Vijayawada: The Vijayawada Railway Division (VRD) has got a favourable court judgment that freed up five acres of its land in the city from litigation. The Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court at Vijayawada delivered the verdict in a group of cases (23) concerning encroached railway lands at Machavaram and Satyanarayanapuram.

The judge dismissed ‘appeal suites’ thereby upheld the claim of railways to the disputed land. The encroachers have since been ordered to vacate the land situated around the Electric Traction Training Centre (ETTC) and hand it over to the railway for commercial use.

N. Srihari, Standing Counsel for VRD, told The Hindu that the prime property was acquired by South Central Railway (SCR) under Land Acquisition Act and a gazette notification duly issued for development of commercial properties but the land was encroached over a period of time.

The claims of encroachers were dismissed by the court in response to petitions filed by the Estate Officer of SCR, Vijayawada and even the Supreme Court ruled in favour of SCR.

“The land will now be vacated as per the court orders. The required proceedings have been initiated”, Mr. Srihari said. Eviction orders were originally passed by the Estate Officer of VRD under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorized Occupants) Act, 1971 and appeals were subsequently preferred by the illegal claimants to the land.

The appeals have been eventually dismissed in the wake of their failure to establish any legal right to the disputed land.

Some of the residents claimed to be staying there for over 30 years and paying all civic dues. A conservative estimate puts the land cost at Rs. 100 crore.

Meanwhile, the VRD is taking steps for development of a five-storied commercial property on its land located near the railway station.

Web: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Vijayawada/railways-get-back-5acre-encroached-land-in-city/article7894941.ece