Jamshedpur: In a significant legal development, the Jharkhand High Court has provided major relief to shopkeepers located along the Tatanagar Station-Kitadih road. During a hearing in the court of Justice Rajesh Kumar on Tuesday, the court granted vendors a one-month grace period to vacate their premises while simultaneously directing Railway authorities to rehabilitate them within the railway zone within 42 days.
The court’s intervention comes as a setback to the Railway’s immediate anti-encroachment plans but offers a lifeline to dozens of families whose livelihoods depend on these shops. Under the formal mandate, shopkeepers are required to clear their establishments within 30 days voluntarily. In coordination with this timeline, Railway officials must resettle the affected vendors within railway territory within 42 days and file a detailed compliance report once that period concludes.
The dispute intensified recently when the Railway Engineering Department demolished approximately 12 out of 25 shops on the Station-Kitadih stretch as part of the Tatanagar Station expansion project. Fearing total displacement, the remaining shopkeepers moved the High Court to challenge the drive. Following the court’s order, all demolition activities on this route will remain suspended for the next month, effectively pausing the expansion project to prioritize vendor welfare.
The decision has brought visible relief to the local business community, with many vendors expressing satisfaction that they will finally have a legal and permanent space to operate. While the area had seen a decline in commercial activity following the initial raids, several shops remain open as they await the formal resettlement process. The Railway’s broader plan involves clearing encroachments from the station area up to Kitadih and Golpahari to facilitate large-scale infrastructure upgrades, but the court has now ensured that this progress does not come at the cost of the traders’ fundamental right to livelihood.
