Uttar Pradesh: Over 100 ‘illegal’ houses demolished on railway land near Mathura’s Krishna Janmasthan

Authorities demolished over 100 houses that were developed illegally on railway land near the Krishna Janmasthan area in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura district on Wednesday.

Early Wednesday morning, local administration, railway officials, and a significant police presence descended upon areas near Mathura’s Shri Krishna Janmasthan, initiating the demolition of over 100 houses in the Nai Basti locality. This area, predominantly inhabited by minority communities, was reportedly deemed ‘illegally developed on government land’.

While notices had been issued to the residents, they had contested the issue in a civil court, with the next hearing scheduled for August 21. Surprisingly, despite the matter being sub judice, the demolition operation continued throughout the day, as reported by locals. A total of 135 houses, housing more than 200 families, have been marked for demolition.

Nitin Garg, the Divisional Work Engineer of Railways, explained, “Structures illegally constructed on railway land are being removed following due process. The land is required to transform the line from Mathura to Vrindavan from narrow gauge to broad gauge.”

Rajesh Kumar Saini, the lawyer representing the affected families, expressed his concern, saying, “After getting notices from the railways, we had filed a petition in the civil court [senior division] in Mathura. Thereafter, the court issued a notice to the railways seeking a response on the matter. Last month, the authorities sought additional time to file a response, which has not happened so far. Despite the matter being sub judice, the demolition is being carried out.”

Mathura demolition near site of Krishna Janmabhoomi-Shahi Idgah dispute

The Shri Krishna Janmasthan, referred to as ‘Janmabhoomi’ in court documents, lies adjacent to the Shahi Idgah mosque, the ownership of which is being legally contested in courts across Uttar Pradesh.

Multiple Hindu organisations have filed numerous suits seeking the removal of the mosque on the grounds that it was built by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb on 13.37 acres of the Katra Keshav Dev temple premises on the alleged birthplace of Lord Krishna. In May, all pending cases in local courts were transferred to the Allahabad High Court.

Disheartened residents affected by the demolition drive have expressed their concerns. 55-year-old Mohd Naseem, who lost his house, lamented, “Authorities are not ready to listen to us. They refused to see papers of the properties. We are being targeted because of our religious identity.”

66-year-old Yakub Shah, another affected resident, shared, “I have lived here all my life. Our houses are being razed illegally. We were not even allowed to take out our belongings.”

Sayeed Ahmed, an 84-year-old resident, added, “Our ancestors had given a part of their land to the British government for a new railway line in 1888. Today, we are being uprooted from our own land.”

Prashasti Srivastava, the PRO of the Agra railway division, emphasised that ‘proper legal procedure was following before conducting the drive’. She explained that ‘a high speed rail corridor has been proposed for operation of trains like Vande Bharat’.

In January, the Supreme Court intervened in the Haldwani case where the Uttarakhand High Court had endorsed the ‘use of force’ to evict 4,000 families residing on land claimed by railways. The Supreme Court said that people in large numbers cannot be forcefully uprooted without evaluating their rights.