‘Over 3,498 acres of railways land secured from encroachers’

ISLAMABAD: Showing zero-tolerance for encroachers of the state land across the country, the Pakistan Railways has so far secured over 3,498 acres of its land from encroachers in the last four years.

A total of 3,498.579 acres of Railways land has been retrieved and regularised till November 30, 2015 after a detailed survey and subsequent campaign launched against encroachers on the directives of the Supreme Court, official sources in the Ministry of Railways told the APP here.

The anti-encroachment drive, they said, was being monitored by the divisional superintendents at the railways headquarters and at the level of the ministry.Besides, a comprehensive policy was in place to prevent further encroachments, making railway officers and police responsible in case of any new encroachment.

During the current campaign, they said, 688 people were arrested in the anti-encroachment operations.To a question, the sources said the issue regarding illegal occupation and possession of railways land by government departments and institutions had also been taken up with the departments concerned.