Homes for poor built on land reclaimed from slain gangster in Uttar Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on June 30 handed over keys of houses to 76 low income group persons under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) in Lukarganj area of Prayagraj on the land freed from murdered gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed. The flats were allotted through a lottery earlier this month.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath handed over allotment letters for flats to 76 beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) in Prayagraj on Friday. He said the flats for the low-income groups were built on land freed from the illegal possession of slain gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed.

The flats were allotted through a lottery earlier this month. Mr. Adityanath said all the development authorities in U.P. should build houses for the poor on the land freed from the possession of mafia groups.

“Prior to 2017, governments used to stand by the mafia groups due to which the State was not able to develop. The poor and marginalised were forced to settle in huts while earning their living. Now, the State government is standing with the poor,” the CM said at the event.

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The Prayagraj Development Authority built the 76 flats at a cost of roughly ₹6 crore. Each of the flats measures 41 sq.m. and has two rooms, a kitchen and a toilet. As many as 1,590 people participated in the allotment lottery process for the allotment of the 76 flats.

Mr. Adityanath also inaugurated or laid the foundation stone for several development projects estimated at ₹768 crore. In his speech, he made a pitch for the formation of the BJP government again at the Centre in 2024. “The double engine BJP government is taking forward the development initiatives and good governance in U.P. with double speed. The government is committed to the people, we must elect a government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2024 once again to establish India as the biggest power in the world,” said the Chief Minister.

U.P. government data showed that till August 15, 2022, it had freed more than 1.5 lakh acres of land from the illegal possession of mafia groups, while registering 4,407 FIRs and identifying 2,464 people as encroachers.