Over 84,005 hectares (approximately 2.08 lakh acres) of land across Uttar Pradesh have been freed from illegal encroachment over the past nine and a half years through strict action and various drives, the state revenue department said here on Wednesday.
The action comes as part of the Uttar Pradesh government’s anti-land mafia campaign against illegal encroachment on public properties.
Along with freeing land from illegal occupation, the campaign has been further expanded through the disposal of complaints, effective legal proceedings and criminal action against identified land mafias, it said.
According to revenue department officials, a four-tier Anti-Land Mafia Task Force has been constituted at the state, divisional, district and tehsil levels to ensure effective action against illegal encroachment on public properties in the state.
The objective is to systematically carry forward the process, from identifying illegal encroachments to taking action against them and freeing the land from encroachment, it said.
An anti-land mafia portal has also been developed to facilitate online registration of complaints regarding illegal encroachments and enable effective monitoring of the action taken.
A total of 4,34,016 complaints related to illegal encroachment have been received on the portal in the state. Of these, 4,31,697 complaints, or more than 99 per cent, have already been resolved. A total of 2,319 complaints are pending for disposal.
The statement noted that the department has not only focused on freeing land from illegal occupation through the campaign but has also established a monitoring mechanism that covers the entire process, from online complaint registration to their resolution.
This has created a system for continuously tracking the status of action taken.
One of the biggest achievements of the campaign has been the freeing of more than 84,005 hectares of land from illegal encroachment.
This has made approximately 2.08 lakh acres of land available to accelerate development in the state. It includes a substantial government land bank that can potentially be utilised for various development projects, the statement said.
The portal has emerged as an important tool for monitoring the campaign. Along with administrative action in cases of illegal encroachment, legal proceedings have also been pursued.
Over the years, the campaigns have resulted in the filing of 25,068 revenue cases, 1,168 civil cases and 4,751 FIRs. 1,413 encroachers have been identified as land mafias under the campaign. Of these, 144 land mafias are currently in jail, the statement said.
According to the revenue department, 1,621 cases have been registered against encroachers under the Indian Penal Code, while action has been taken against 109 people under the Code of Criminal Procedure, three under the National Security Act, 70 under the Gangsters Act, 206 under the Goonda Act and 1,745 people under other relevant provisions.
The land that has now been freed can be systematically identified and made available for industries, pharmaceutical and manufacturing units, logistics parks, universities, medical colleges and other major investment proposals.
