Hindi English Translation || Editorial || A timely halt: On the Haldwani eviction issue

A timely halt: On the Haldwani eviction issue

Supreme Court must lay down rehabilitation norms (आदर्श, मानक) for eviction from public spaces

The Supreme Court’s timely (समयोचित, शीघ्र) intervention (हस्तक्षेप) has halted (stoppage, suspension) the forcible eviction (बेदखली, निष्कासन) of some 50,000 people from Haldwani in Uttarakhand, where the occupants (निवासी, अधिकारी) are accused of squatting (unlawfully occupy/settle on a parcel of land that belongs to someone else) on railway property for decades (दशक, दस साल का समय). The Uttarakhand High Court had taken a tough stand (opinion, view point, point of view, perspective, stance) against the residents, and passed a slew of (a large number of, lot, range) directions (instruction, notice, guidance) that would have entailed (require, demand, call for, be grounds/reason for, warrant, involve) their eviction within a week, backed (support, endorse, approve, advocate, champion) by force, including the deployment (तैनाती, फैलाव) of paramilitary (अर्द्धसैनिक) forces (troops, armed forces, soldiers). It is significant that the Bench (a court of law with a number of judges) underscored (emphasize, highlight, draw attention on, underline) the human angle (दृष्टिकोण, नज़रिया) to the issue and spoke about the need for rehabilitation (rehabilitation) before eviction while staying (रोकना, रहना) the order. In an earlier round of litigation (मुकदमा, अभियोग) over the same land, which adjoins the Haldwani Railway Station, court orders had allowed proceedings (कार्यवाही, संचालन) against individual occupants under the Public Premises (परिसर,भवन) (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971, to be completed. This time, too, it was on a PIL that the High Court had passed its orders. The High Court’s detailed judgment shows that the residents’ claim (दावा, विवाद) is traceable ((of a cause or origin) capable of being traced) to a 1907 Office Memorandum that says the area be managed under rules pertaining (concern, relate to, be connected with, be relevant to) to ‘nazul land (Government land (mainly used for nonagricultural purpose such as building, road, market, playground or etc.); ‘Nazul’ means any land or building which, being the property of Government)’. The court has ruled that it was not a government order but only a communication (message, information, instruction) on how to manage the land, and it does not amount to (be equal to, be equivalent to, be tantamount to, represent) declaring it as ‘nazul land’, that is, land that has fallen into the hands of the state (the government, the administration, the regime, the authorities, the Establishment) by escheat (a reversion or return. (The return of property of a deceased person to the state where there are no legal heirs or claimants)). As one of the nazul rules is that there cannot be sale or lease, the court rejected all claims made by occupants based on purported (claimed, professed, plausible, supposed, apparent) documents for lease, sale, and, in some cases, purchase through auction (the process of determining the selling/buying price of something through a competitive bidding process; bidding).

Conflicts between occupants of public land and the state that wants to reclaim the land are a never-ending (continuing, unending, unceasing, endless, relentless) saga (a series of incidents) in the country. A shortage of housing, as well as inadequate recognition of the right to shelter (protect, shield, screen, defend, guard, keep safe), means that large masses of people encroach (intrude, violate, infringe, trespass, obtrude) on vacant land, be it on the bed (basin) of water bodies or government property. This often leads to (result in, cause, bring on, bring about, give rise to) attempts to evict (remove, eliminate, expel) the occupants and spawns litigation. Invariably, there are claims to occupancy rights based on long years of stay at the same location. There are court judgments that stress (emphasize, underline, underscore, highlight) rehabilitation measures (action, step, procedure) and consultation with the oustees (a person who is ousted, especially one who is removed from his place of residence or land to make room for an infrastructure improvement or public works project) before eviction. Some courts have also recorded the view that mandatory rehabilitation may prove to be an incentive (motivation, encouragement, impetus, boost; attraction, encouragement, temptation, inducement) for encroachment (intrusion, infiltration, incursion, trespass, invasion). The Haldwani eviction effort has unfortunately taken communal overtones (hidden meaning, connotation, implication, feeling, intimation), and there appears to be a clamour (protest, complaint, outcry, commotion) for the early eviction of the Muslim residents. India does not have a good record on rehabilitation of those evicted from public spaces, and this case presents an opportunity to the Supreme Court to lay down the law on meaningful rehabilitation as well as (and also, and in addition) effective prevention of encroachments.

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.timely (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - समयोचित, शीघ्र
English Meaning - prompt, appropriate, opportune, well timed, at the right time.

2.eviction (noun)

Hindi Meaning - बेदखली, निष्कासन
English Meaning - expulsion, banishment, ousting/removal.

3.rehabilitation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - पुनर्वास
English Meaning - the action of bringing (someone or something) back to a normal; restoration, bringing back, reinduction; reinstitution, reinstallation, re-establishment, revival.

4.norm (noun)

Hindi Meaning - आदर्श, मानक
English Meaning - standard, convention, regulation.

5.intervention (noun)

Hindi Meaning - हस्तक्षेप
English Meaning - the process of intervening in something; involvement, interference.

6.occupant (noun)

Hindi Meaning - निवासी, अधिकारी
English Meaning - resident, inhabitant, dweller.

7.decade (noun)

Hindi Meaning - दशक, दस साल का समय
English Meaning - a period of ten years.

8.deployment (noun)

Hindi Meaning - तैनाती, फैलाव
English Meaning - the act of employing forces/troops into effective action.

9.paramilitary (adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अर्द्धसैनिक
English Meaning - (of semi-militarized force) organized like a military force.

10.angle (noun)

Hindi Meaning - दृष्टिकोण, नज़रिया
English Meaning - point of view, perspective, viewpoint.

11.stay (verb)

Hindi Meaning - रोकना, रहना
English Meaning - stop, delay, or prevent something temporarily (a judicial proceeding/trial through the order of a court).

12.litigation (noun)

Hindi Meaning - मुकदमा, अभियोग
English Meaning - court case, lawsuit, hearing, inquiry, judicial/legal proceedings.

13.proceeding (noun)

Hindi Meaning - कार्यवाही, संचालन
English Meaning - course of action, operation, process, procedure, move, act, step, measure.

14.premises (noun)

Hindi Meaning - परिसर,भवन
English Meaning - building, buildings, site, place, property.

15.claim (noun)

Hindi Meaning - दावा, विवाद
English Meaning - assertion, contention, affirmation, submission, avowal.

16.halt (noun)

English Meaning - stoppage, suspension.

17.lay down (phrasal verb)

English Meaning - formulate, stipulate, prescribe, specify, order, announce, determine.

18.squat (verb)

English Meaning - unlawfully occupy/settle on a parcel of land that belongs to someone else.

19.take a stand (phrase)

English Meaning - to express one’s opinion.

20.stand (noun)

English Meaning - opinion, view point, point of view, perspective, stance.

21.slew of (noun)

English Meaning - a large number of, lot, range.

22.direction (noun)

English Meaning - instruction, notice, guidance.

23.entail (verb)

English Meaning - require, demand, call for, be grounds/reason for, warrant, involve.

24.back (verb)

English Meaning - support, endorse, approve, advocate, champion.

25.forces (noun)

English Meaning - troops, armed forces, soldiers.

26.bench (noun)

English Meaning - a court of law with a number of judges.

27.underscore (verb)

English Meaning - emphasize, highlight, draw attention on, underline.

28.adjoin (verb)

English Meaning - be next to, be adjacent to, abut, be connected to.

29.Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 (noun)

English Meaning - An Act to provide for the eviction of unauthorised occupants from public premises and for certain incidental matters.

30.public interest litigation (PIL)(noun)

English Meaning - legal action initiated in a court of law for the enforcement or protection of public interest.

31.traceable (adjective)

English Meaning - (of a cause or origin) capable of being traced.

32.memoranda/memorandum (noun)

English Meaning - a written message; message, communication, letter.

33.pertain (verb)

English Meaning - concern, relate to, be connected with, be relevant to.

34.nazul land (noun)

English Meaning - Government land (mainly used for nonagricultural purpose such as building, road, market, playground or etc.); ‘Nazul’ means any land or building which, being the property of Government.

35.communication (noun)

English Meaning - message, information, instruction.

36.amount to (verb)

English Meaning - be equal to, be equivalent to, be tantamount to, represent.

37.fall into the hands of (phrase)

English Meaning - be captured by, be possessed by (someone).

38.the state (noun)

English Meaning - the government, the administration, the regime, the authorities, the Establishment.

39.escheat (noun)

English Meaning - a reversion or return. (The return of property of a deceased person to the state where there are no legal heirs or claimants).

40.purported (adjective)

English Meaning - claimed, professed, plausible, supposed, apparent.

41.auction (noun)

English Meaning - the process of determining the selling/buying price of something through a competitive bidding process; bidding.

42.conflict (noun)

English Meaning - dispute, quarrel, squabble; clash, friction, opposition.

43.never-ending (adjective)

English Meaning - continuing, unending, unceasing, endless, relentless.

44.saga (noun)

English Meaning - a series of incidents.

45.recognition (noun)

English Meaning - (formal) acknowledgement, acceptance, awareness, realization, admission.

46.shelter (verb)

English Meaning - protect, shield, screen, defend, guard, keep safe

47.encroach (verb)

English Meaning - intrude, violate, infringe, trespass, obtrude.

48.bed (noun)

English Meaning - basin.

49.lead to (verb)

English Meaning - result in, cause, bring on, bring about, give rise to.

50.evict (verb)

English Meaning - remove, eliminate, expel.

51.invariably (adverb)

English Meaning - always, each time, at all times.

52.stress (verb)

English Meaning - emphasize, underline, underscore, highlight.

53.measure (noun)

English Meaning - action, step, procedure.

54.oustee (noun)

English Meaning - a person who is ousted, especially one who is removed from his place of residence or land to make room for an infrastructure improvement or public works project.

55.mandatory (adjective)

English Meaning - obligatory, necessary, required, compulsory.

56.incentive (noun)

English Meaning - motivation, encouragement, impetus, boost; attraction, encouragement, temptation, inducement.

57.encroachment (noun)

English Meaning - intrusion, infiltration, incursion, trespass, invasion.

58.overtones (noun)

English Meaning - hidden meaning, connotation, implication, feeling, intimation.

59.clamour (noun)

English Meaning - protest, complaint, outcry, commotion.

60.as well as (phrase)

English Meaning - and also, and in addition.