Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath announced that around 2.5 crore people residing in the villages of Uttar Pradesh would get Gharauni certificates by October, 2023.
Addressing a gathering, including government officials as well as beneficiaries of the Gharauni scheme at an event organised to distribute Gharauni certificates to 11 lakh villagers here on Saturday, the CM said while 34 lakh people have already benefitted from the scheme, a survey of lands by drones in 1,10,300 revenue villages of the state would be completed by August this year to expedite distribution of certificates to more beneficiaries.
According to the chief minister, 100 per cent population of Jalaun district has got Gharauni certificates.
Expressing his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for launching the Rural Residential Records scheme across the country in April, 2020, Yogi said it would help strengthen the rural economy and make villagers self-reliant in the long run.
“Mahatma Gandhi dreamt of ‘Gram Swaraj’ while PM Modi’s vision is to make the country self-reliant. The Gharauni scheme will help realise these larger goals,” Yogi said. He said it would also help curb land encroachment. He also noted that the UP government has so far freed 64,000 hectares of land illegally occupied by the mafia and criminals since the launch of the scheme with the help of the Land Mafia Task Force.
The task force was formed at tehsil, district, commissionerate and state levels.
The chief minister also stressed on the importance of digitising land records in speedy disposal of pending land dispute cases and in increasing state’s revenue.
“Earlier, deprived communities such as Vantangia, Musahar and Saharia were targeted by the land mafia and criminals enjoying political patronage and their lands were captured,” he said.
Expressing concern over the long list of pending land dispute cases in courts, the CM said the scheme would set the records straight, leaving little room for disputes.
Describing it as a landmark step in the history of Indian democracy, Yogi said that Gharauni certificates would enable villagers to get loans easily and also facilitate them in establishing as well as expanding their businesses.
The Gharauni scheme seeks to facilitate transfer of ancestral lands and properties to their rightful owners.