CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has observed that the Odisha State Road Transport Corporation (OSRTC) authorities should make some arrangement to reallocate those shop owners whose right to livelihood is going to be affected due to eviction from Bhubaneswar’s Baramunda bus stand for its development.
The HC indicated that they should be reallocated in a different area or allocated shops that will come up in the developed bus stand area. The observation came while disposing a petition filed by a shop owner at Baramunda bus stand. Nakula Sahoo, who is earning his livelihood through the shop, had sought protection against eviction without reallocation.
Advocate Niranjan Lenka argued his case through video conferencing on Wednesday and offered to vacate the shop and submit an application for reallocation elsewhere or allocation of a shop after renovation work is completed in the bus stand.
The Court felt that there is no dispute that the petitioner is one of the shop owners involving the bus stand and that he is having his source of livelihood involving such shop room for long time.
Justice Biswanath Rath said, “In this context, this Court observes, while evicting persons like the petitioner, some arrangement should have been made by the OSRTC authorities to either reallocate the petitioner at different area or allocate a shop room, if any, to come up in the disputed land after renovation of the bus stand is undertaken.”