UP Governor asks Akhilesh Yadav to issue White Paper on encroachments

Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik has asked Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav to issue a white paper on illegal encroachments across the state.

This comes a week after BJP President Amit Shah in Lucknow accusing the ruling SP of harbouring criminals and land grabbers.

In a letter written to Yadav, the Governor said the government should seek reports from the respective local bodies and development authorities about illegal encroachments on public parks, grazing grounds, ponds and community land or buildings falling under their jurisdiction.

The government has been asked to ascertain the total area, estimated market value and the duration of such illegal encroachments to issue a comprehensive white paper on the subject.

The Governor said all public land grabbers be evicted and the land or property be restored to the local bodies and development authorities, so as to preempt Mathura like incidents.

In Mathura, City Superintendent of Police (SP) Mukul Dwivedi and Station House Officer (SHO) Santosh Kumar Yadav were amongst the over 25 persons killed, when a police team was attacked during an anti-encroachment drive earlier this month.

The police were acting on the directions of Allahabad High Court to get a public park, Jawahar Bagh, vacated from the members of an organisation, who had been squatting for about two years now.

Interestingly, BJP has asked the people to apprise it of the land grabbing cases in the state, so that the party could respond through agitations apart from taking administrative and legal recourse.

In his letter, the Governor maintained illicit occupants had encroached upon public properties in various districts and such elements had yet not been evicted despite court orders from time to time.

Of late, the Akhilesh Yadav government has come under scanner over law and order issue with the opposition parties pointing to the Mathura incident to buttress their point about the ruling party allegedly sheltering criminals and anti-social elements.