North Central Railway removes 50-year-old encroachment, clears trackside scrap for green belts

The North Central Railway (NCR) is taking action to remove encroachments from railway land and clear trackside scrap to make space for trees and green belts. Dr Shivam Sharma, Chief Public Relations Officer of NCR, explained that a three-storey illegal house stood on 287 square meters of land at Rail Gaav Colony in Subedarganj, Prayagraj, for nearly 50 years before it was removed.

After the house was taken down, the railway began planting trees at the site. Additionally, NCR has cleared encroachments at other locations, including 1,550 square meters in Jhansi and 6,500 square meters in Gau Ghat Colony, Prayagraj. The cleared area will be used for plantation. The railway also clears trackside scrap and unused material to increase greenery around its infrastructure.

This includes stations, railway yards, areas between stations, railway colonies, and training institutes. The NCR is following the Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam campaign, aiming to plant 2 crore saplings across its network, with 1,11,11,111 already planted this financial year. During World Environment Day, more than 13 lakh saplings were planted in one day.

General Manager Naresh Pal Singh and Deputy General Manager Atul Mishra are leading the environment sustainability efforts, including plantation, digitization, rainwater harvesting, and borewell revival for groundwater recharge. The railway has undertaken plantation across 2,436 hectares in its three divisions: Prayagraj division, Agra division, and Jhansi division.