LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh government cleared encroachment from 11466.98 hectares of land – which is more than half the size of Noida (around 20,000 hectares) – between April 2019 and March 2022, said CM Yogi Adityanath in a written submission made in the UP Assembly on Tuesday.
Adityanath’s response came on a query put forth by SP MLA from Chail assembly in Kaushambi, Pooja Pal, who sought to know as to what steps the state government took against land sharks.
Pal happens to be the widow of former BSP MLA from Allahabad (West), Raju Pal, who was gunned down in 2005 following his alleged rivalry with former SP MP Atiq Ahmad. Atiq, his younger brother and former MLA Khalid Azeem aka Ashraf and son Ali Ahmad, are currently in jail on various criminal charges, including land grabbing. It was only a week ago when police attached three properties worth about Rs 16 crore of mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad in Lucknow and Prayagraj.
Yogi informed the House that a total of 475 encroachers have been identified as land mafia, against whom 1,429 revenue suits, 89 civil suits and 911 FIRs have been lodged. The CM said that action has been taken against 50 encroachers under IPC, against seven under Criminal Procedure Code, against one under the Goonda Act and against 83 under other sections. Of the total, 21 land mafia are languishing in jail, Yogi said.
Responding to a query raised by SP’s Basti MLA Mahendra Nath Yadav, Adityanath submitted that his government has asked the police thanas in the state to be prompt in updating the registers detailing “mohalla-level” disputes. Accordingly, licences of weapons of people, involved in disputes, are being cancelled and action under the National Security Act (NSA), Gangsters and Goonda Acts are initiated. He said that the state government has also decided to approach courts in expediting the murder cases.
Yadav sought to ask the state government about the steps taken by it in checking the cases of loot, dacoity and murder. Yogi maintained that the crime rate has come down drastically because of the effective implementation of the policies in the last over five years.
