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ISLAMABAD:
The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Friday sought a detailed report from Pakistan Railways (PR) on widespread encroachments and illegal occupation of its land.
The court ordered the department to explain the steps it took to recover its properties and the action taken against the officials responsible for the encroachments.
A two-judge bench comprising Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice KK Agha heard the case related to illegal occupation of railway land.
During the proceedings, Justice Rizvi questioned whether “anyone was there to stop the encroachment and occupation of railway land”, adding that railway land is a trust of the nation.
He lamented that at the time of creation of Pakistan, the railway system was robust, but “today the number of trains and tracks have been reduced to half.” He said hospitals and railway clubs had disappeared, while “slums and industries had been built on railway land”.
The judge asked whether the land was intended to be used for encroachment and whether the PR intended to use the land if it was reclaimed.
The PR lawyer argued that 1,359 kanals of railway land in Rawalpindi had been allotted by the Punjab government to a katchi abadi, and even the Rawalpindi railway station came under this land.
Advocate Shah Khawar added that Punjab has now admitted its mistake and 1,288 channels have been officially transferred to PR.
Justice Rizvi went on to criticize the department, saying “railway officials are sitting in air-conditioned rooms”, leaving the land vulnerable to illegal occupation. “If officers remain in the air-conditioned rooms, encroachments will occur,” he observed.
