Nainital (Uttarakhand): Thousands of families living in the unauthorised colonies near Haldwani railway station will have to vacate their homes following a Uttarakhand High Court ruling, media reports said.

Starting January 1, the residents will be eviction notices and given seven days to vacate the area.

A total of 4,365 encroachments will be cleared from the area, Indian Express reported citing Nainital district officials.

The residents, many of them living in the unauthorised colonies for decades, have been protesting against the court order.

The state government told the court that it had no authority over the land as it belonged to the Indian Railways.

The railway said no resident could produce legal documents to assert a legal claim over the land.

After hearing all the parties, the court issued a ruling in favour of the railways in the case which had been going on for decades.

According to local sources, the encroachments include around 20 mosques and 9 temples, said the Indian Express report.

The opposition Congress has opposed the ruling saying that the state government did not argue the case properly in court.