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 directed the department to explain what steps it has taken to reclaim its property and the measures initiated against officials responsible for allowing encroachments.
A two-judge bench comprising Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice KK Agha heard the case related to the illegal occupation of railway land.
During the proceedings, Justice Rizvi questioned whether “anyone is there to stop the encroachment and occupation of the railway’s proprietary land”, adding that railway land is a trust of the nation.
He lamented that at the time of Pakistan’s creation, the railway system was robust, but “today the number of trains and tracks has been reduced to half”. He said that railway hospitals and clubs had disappeared, while “slums and industries have been built on railway land”.
The judge asked whether the land was meant to be used for encroachment, and whether the PR had any plan to utilise the land if it was recovered.
PR’s counsel submitted that 1,359 kanals of railway land in Rawalpindi had been allotted by the Punjab government to a katchi abadi, and that even the Rawalpindi Railway Station fell under this land.
Lawyer Shah Khawar added that Punjab had now acknowledged its mistake and 1,288 kanals had been formally transferred back to the PR.
Justice Rizvi went on to criticise the department, saying that “railway officers sit in air-conditioned rooms”, leaving land vulnerable to illegal occupation. “If officers stay in AC rooms, encroachment will happen,” he observed.
