Govt: Railway Line Evictions To Continue
Government has maintained that all properties within 30 meters of the railway line will be demolished with the Eastern corridor on the Kampala-Jinja road taking the biggest chunk.
This is highlighted in a statement to Parliament by the Minister for Security Wilson Muruli Mukasa who was holding the portfolio of the Minister in charge of Presidency, Frank Tumwebaze.
His statement was on the eviction of persons on railway reserves from Busega to Namanve and on complaints that Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) extended the radius of the railway reserves while evicting people in Namuwongo this week.
Minister Muruli Mukasa told Parliament that Uganda Railways Corporation (URC) owned property along the railway line and that the railway reserves are part of the said property.
He noted that URC has freehold interest in the property and they generally extend 30.48metres on either side of the railway line save for certain sections of the railway corridor.
He highlighted the demarcation of railway reserves saying that the Eastern Corridor from Kampala to Jinja is 60.94metres wide and the Southern Corridor from Kampala to Port Bell is 30.47metres on the either side of the track.
For the Western Corridor or the Kampala-Kasese line from the boundary of Kampala Railway Station reserve to Ndeeba, the railway line corridor is 30.47metres wide.
Beyond Ndeeba, the corridor is 60.94metres wide either side of the center of the railway track.
On the question of resettlement of the evicted people, Minister Muruli Mukasa told the House that after the restructuring of the railways operation concession in 2010, a full Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) was commissioned by Ministry of Works and Transport together with the Finance Ministry and the Rift Valley Railways (RVR). RVR are the private operators of the railway network.
Mukasa said that the RAP study included a verification exercise of the Project Affected Persons (PAP), survey of the railway reserves and valuation of resettlement amounts due to the affected people. He explained that several community engagements were held to ensure that the society appreciated the need for the re-development of the railway line and to promote safety.
He noted that the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) cut-off date was 22nd January 2011 and that whoever showed up on the railway reserve land after that date could not be a beneficiary of the resettlement package.
The minister added that the Uganda Railways Corporation through its parent Ministry has in the last three years submitted budgetary requests to the Ministry of Finance for the purposes of the Resettlement Action Plan but this request has not yet been honored.
Mukasa also noted that the re-development of the railway network has been stymied by the question of funding, political considerations or interference and encroachment of the railway reserves particularly in the greater Kampala area.
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It does not need rocket science for people to see that they illegally occupied within railway track and platform. It is no point of making excuses that makes people guilty. It could be wise for everyone especially occupants to see development as long term. It will bring completion to transport and safety as well than our taxi who sometimes drive over curbs.