Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, May 19: Western Railway on Tuesday launched a major anti-encroachment drive near Bandra railway station, clearing nearly 18 per cent of around 500 illegal huts following directions from the Bombay High Court.
Chief Public Relations Officer Vineet Abhishek said the five-day operation aims to free around 5,300 square metres of railway land to ensure safety and facilitate future railway expansion projects.
The drive, which began on Tuesday, will continue till May 23.
Officials said the railway plans to develop an integrated complex at Bandra Terminus comprising elevated roads, multi-storey buildings, platforms and maintenance facilities.
“Of the approximately 500 huts to be demolished on the railway land at Garib Nagar, we have cleared around 15 to 18 per cent on the first day of the anti-encroachment drive,” Abhishek said.
According to Western Railway, the demolition exercise is being carried out jointly with the civil administration, police authorities and railway security agencies to maintain law and order and ensure humane implementation of the drive.
In a statement, the railway said proceedings under the Public Premises Act had been initiated before 2017 and eviction orders were passed on November 27, 2017.
The statement noted that the issue had undergone extensive judicial scrutiny over nearly nine years, including hearings before the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court of India.
Railway authorities said the latest Bombay High Court order dated April 29, 2026, later upheld in subsequent proceedings and before the Supreme Court, permitted removal of unauthorised encroachments while protecting eligible structures identified during joint surveys.
Western Railway stated that it was fully complying with court directions and that protected structures were not being disturbed during the drive.
The railway administration further maintained that railway land, particularly in safety-sensitive operational zones, could not remain permanently encroached upon and asserted that the action was being carried out strictly within the legal framework and judicial orders.