A piece of land, slightly smaller than a standard football ground, outside Bansdroni Metro station has been encroached upon illegally, said Metro officials.

A bus stand, a parking for two-wheelers, a series of shanties and some makeshift shops now stand on the land, outside Gate number 2 of Masterda Surya Sen Metro station and off NSC Bose Road that connects Tollygunge and Garia.

On Tuesday, P. Uday Kumar Reddy, the Metro general manager, visited the site, accompanied by senior officials of the carrier.

“The land belongs to Metro Railway. It measures around 4,000 square metres. A substation needs to be built here. But we have not been able to use the land,” said a Metro official.

A substation receives power from the CESC before feeding it to Metro stations.

“Despite repeated requests and attempts, this land could not be made encroachment-free as some local influential persons having vested interests have been preventing all attempts of Metro Railway authorities to recover the land which is urgently required for setting up an electrical substation,” the carrier said in a statement issued on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, this newspaper saw multiple notice boards on the plot. “This land belongs to Metro Railway, Kolkata,” they read.

The 205 bus stand has been there for years now, residents said. It is a popular route between Bansdroni and Babughat via Park Street.

The north-south Metro corridor (Blue Line) was extended beyond Tollygunge Garia in 2009.

“Earlier, buses would be parked on NSC Bose Road. It narrowed the carriageway and slowed traffic,” said a resident.

Some shanties and shops also dot the stretch. The shops sell cigarettes, chips, and the likes. A parking space for two-wheelers — cycles, scooters and motorcycles — has also been carved out of the same space.

According to Metro sources, a drive to remove the encroachers had begun in March this year. But it did not reach fruition.

The people in the shanties and those running the shops were served a notice in March that declared their homes stood on railway property.

A notice was served on the wall of our houses. The land belonged to the railways and the alleged encroachers were asked to vacate the area within seven days. The notice was served on March 14.

“Where will we go if they shut our shop or say to vacate the place?” said Rinki Mondal, who runs a stationery shop near the station.

Metro officials said they have sought the help of local administration, including the police. The area falls under the jurisdiction of Netaji Nagar police station, which is part of the South Suburban division.

Bidisha Kalita, the deputy commissioner of the division, did not answer calls or respond to messages from this newspaper.

Aroop Biswas, local MLA and senior Trinamool minister, could not be contacted.

According to sources, the local administration and Metro officials are in conversation to reach an amicable solution.