A Calcutta High Court bench on Thursday directed the Eastern Railway to issue notices to the squatters along Rabindra Sarobar (the Dhakuria Lakes), giving them seven days to vacate or face eviction.

The bench of Justice Barin Ghosh and Justice Aloke Kumar Basu ordered the railway to issue certificates to the settlers who left on their own.

?The certificate will enable the settlers to get a substitute shelter under the Valmiki Abasan Yojana when the government implements the scheme,? the judges said.

Earlier, through an affidavit, railway counsel Uttam Majumdar prayed for time.

?The court has set November 16 as the eviction date. But the state government has said it will be difficult to send a police back-up till December 4, as the force will be engaged in maintaining law and order during the festive days,? Majumdar said. ?Moreover, the civic authority says that only one bulldozer can be provided, as the others are being used in road repairs,? the lawyer added.

The judges directed the agencies to be ready with their equipment from December 10.

According to the lawyer for the settlers, both the railway and the state were trying to rehabilitate the oustees under the Valmiki Abasan Yojana. ?However, we have moved a petition in the Supreme Court to force the government to provide us with substitute shelter as soon as possible,? he said.

The Centre has sanctioned a fund for the beautification of the Lakes. The Calcutta Improvement Trust (CIT) has been directed to finalise a scheme.

The case will come up for hearing after the Puja vacation, when the railway will have to tell the court about the progress of the work relating to the eviction of squatters.