In Delhi, areas such as Shakur Basti, Nizamuddin, Shahdara, Mayapuri, Pragati Maidan and Daya Basti are the worst affected. In Delhi, areas such as Shakur Basti, Nizamuddin, Shahdara, Mayapuri, Pragati Maidan and Daya Basti are the worst affected.

A huge chunk of prime land in the Capital worth over Rs 6,000 crore is unlikely to be freed from squatters anytime soon as the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi has demanded that the encroachers be left 'untouched' for the next five years. The Delhi government has urged the Northern Railways to suspend demolition action against encroachment on its land and sought five years' time to relocate the slums.

In a meeting held recently, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked the Northern Railway authorities to restrain from carrying out demolition of slums till his government develops an alternate settlement to relocate the occupants. His request, however, has been forwarded to the Union railway ministry, which will take the final call.

According to railway officials, nearly 150 acres (60 hectares) of unused land has been encroached upon by slum dwellers in the Delhi region affecting the progress of several railway projects. Mail Today had on April 25 reported that 52 slum clusters have come up on the railway land housing nearly 47,000 dwelling units.

What is more surprising is that nearly 50,000 electricity connections have also been provided to these units. This, an official said, has deprived the railways of its land which is estimated to be priced at over Rs 6,000 crore. According to Indian Railways, 930 hectares of railway land has been illegally occupied across the country.

As per official estimates, nearly five lakh people have been residing illegally in the slums located on railway land. These 47,000 slums have come up across 18 Assembly constituencies in Delhi-and all belong to Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). As slum dwellers constitute a major chunk of AAP's vote bank, the Delhi government cannot afford to take the matter lightly. Sources said the removal of shanties would hamper AAP's prospects in the municipal elections in Delhi scheduled for early 2017.

The Delhi government's move came after the Delhi division of Northern Railways launched a massive anti-encroachment drive in East Delhi following the reports of encroachment on railway land. Nearly 6,000 jhuggis exist on railway land in East Delhi alone.

Sources said the Delhi government cited its notification prohibiting demolition action in the city, but railway officials refused to abide by the same, saying that the railways was exempted from such notifications with regard to its land.

"The Delhi government has asked for suspension of demolition action till it identifies suitable place to relocate the slum dwellers. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has sought five years to relocate them," said Arun Arora, divisional railway manager, Delhi.

The DRM said the communication from the Delhi government has been sent to the railway ministry as a final call in this matter could only be taken by the Railway Board. Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had also met Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu over the issue and sought his intervention in stalling the demolition drive.

"Encroachment on railway land not only poses a threat to public safety, but also an impediment in the success of the cleanliness drive. It is major source of generation of filth, garbage and municipal solid waste," DRM Arora said. There are about 47,000 jhuggis on railway land in Delhi itself and out of these, about 24,500 jhuggis lie within 15 metres of the running railway tracks. This, according to officials, also slows down the speed of the approaching trains to Delhi, thus affecting train schedules. In Delhi, areas like Shakur Basti, Nizamuddin, Azad Colony, Wazirpur, Nangloi, Daya Basti, Zakhira, Tughlaqabad, Seelampur and Shahdara are the worst affected.

Thousands of slum dwellers have been living along the railway tracks for the past several years. The other areas with rampant encroachment include Mayapuri, Premwadi Bridge, Kishanganj, Old Rohtak Road and Pragati Maidan. The Northern Railways had even paid Rs 11.15 crore to the three municipal corporations of Delhi in 2013 for removal of encroachment, but in vain. Railway officials said repeated efforts were made to evacuate the government land, but the attempts proved futile as local politicians intervened to cash in on the votes of the slum dwellers.