A division bench of the high court on Wednesday asked tenants of a dilapidated building at Ekbalpore to vacate the premises within two weeks so that Metro Railway can demolish the structure for the construction of the Joka-BBD Bagh corridor
(Purple Line).
The owner of the building, on National Library Avenue near its intersection with DH Road at Ekbalpore, had accepted compensation from Metro Railway in November 2024, said officials of the carrier.
However, some tenants who run commercial establishments from the premises filed a writ petition in Calcutta High Court.
In December 2024, a single-judge bench of Justice Aniruddha Roy directed the petitioners to vacate the land within six weeks.
The petitioners may claim compensation from Metro Railway under the law, the judge had said. But the tenants challenged the order in a division bench.
The division bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Prasenjit Biswas heard the matter on Tuesday and Wednesday before dismissing the appeal.
“The court stated that tenants cannot object to the land acquisition as the land owner has agreed to the acquisition and handed over the land to Metro Railway,” said an official of RVNL, the implementing agency of the Purple Line.
“The premises can be vacated with police help. The time limit for vacation of the land by the petitioners is extended for two weeks from the date of the order,” the official said.
