UP fees 2 lakh acres of land from encroachment

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 Wednesday.

The action is part of the Uttar Pradesh government's anti-land mafia campaign against illegal encroachment on public properties, according to the department.

Along with freeing land from illegal occupation, the campaign has been expanded through the disposal of complaints, effective legal proceedings and criminal action against identified land mafias, the department said.

Revenue department officials said 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. The objective, according to officials, is to systematically carry the process forward, from identifying illegal encroachments to taking action against them and freeing the land.

An anti-land mafia portal has also been developed to facilitate online registration of complaints regarding illegal encroachments and to enable effective monitoring of action taken, the department said.

A total of 4,34,016 complaints related to illegal encroachment have been received on the portal statewide. Of these, 4,31,697 complaints — more than 99 per cent — have already been resolved, while 2,319 complaints remain pending disposal, according to the department.

The statement said the department has not only focused on freeing land from illegal occupation through the campaign, but has also established a monitoring mechanism covering the entire process, from online complaint registration to resolution, creating a system for continuously tracking the status of action taken.

One of the campaign's biggest achievements has been the freeing of more than 84,005 hectares of land from illegal encroachment, making approximately 2.08 lakh acres available to accelerate development in the state, the statement said. This includes a substantial government land bank that can potentially be utilised for various development projects, it added.

The portal has emerged as an important tool for monitoring the campaign, and legal proceedings have been pursued alongside administrative action in cases of illegal encroachment, according to the department.

Over the years, the campaign has resulted in the filing of 25,068 revenue cases, 1,168 civil cases and 4,751 FIRs, the statement said. A total of 1,413 encroachers have been identified as land mafias under the campaign, of whom 144 are currently in jail, it added.

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 freed land can now be systematically identified and made available for industries, pharmaceutical and manufacturing units, logistics parks, universities, medical colleges and other major investment proposals, the department said.