UP: Administration demolished houses found under PM Awas Yojana, many Dalit families rendered homeless due to bulldozer action
The District Magistrate told The Mooknayak that if the poor do not have houses then they will be provided leases.
Published on: 12 Feb 2024, 5:43 pm
Uttar Pradesh. Five Dalit families in Sitapur district are now forced to sleep under the open sky. These families include the entire family including small children. On February 10, the houses of these five families were demolished by the district administration. The administration claims that all these houses were built on the pond land. The Dalit family claims that this is their ancestral land. Funds were released under Pradhan Mantri Awas and Indira Awas Yojana to build a house on this land. These families are now visiting the residences of officers and ministers with the papers of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
Getting a house under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana is a complex process, which goes through many checks. However, the District Magistrate has rejected the process of land related investigation in government schemes. The District Magistrate has said that if these families do not have space then they will be allotted land on lease to build houses.
These five houses were present in Hathori village of Maholi tehsil of Sitapur district. Now only bricks and debris are left in place of these houses. The people living in these houses are now forced to live on the streets with their families in the open sky. The district administration termed the five houses built here as illegal and on February 10, they were demolished with bulldozers amidst heavy police force.
When the bulldozers were moving on the houses, the women of these families were screaming and crying under police guard on one side of the road. Within no time the entire house was reduced to debris and bricks. These houses belonged to Vinod, Chootai, Ramnaresh, Parsadi, Tamradhwaj.
Vinod, a resident of one of the demolished houses, narrates his plight to The Mooknayak, saying, “This is an ancestral place for me. I have been living on this land in the same village for the last 40-45 years. My elder brother My age is also around 60-65. My father and grandfather also lived here. On this same land, we were allotted funds for the construction of a house under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana in the year 2014. On 24 January 2024, Tehsildar, Accountant and Police Administration They demolished our house without giving any notice. No member of the family was at home. We all had gone to Lakhimpur to work as labourers. When I returned home in the evening, I came to know about the demolition of my house. Now I I am forced to live on the road with my family in such severe winter.” Like Vinod, the other four also have the same pain.
In this matter, the five Dalit families approached Urban Development Minister Rakesh Rathore. After which Urban Development Minister Rakesh Rathore Guru wrote a letter to the District Magistrate on 7 February expressing his displeasure. The Urban Development Minister ordered an impartial investigation into the matter. It is alleged that the minister’s letter went viral on social media. After which the district administration arrived with its team the very next day and razed all five houses to the ground.
Construction demolished on court orders
The administration claims that all five houses have been demolished on the orders of the court. Chhoti’s house was built on the land of a pond in Hathuri of Aliya development block area. Chhoti’s family had been living here for many years. Apart from this, Sarvesh, Siyaram, Ram Prakash and Nokhe had built houses on the playground land. They were given eviction notice in the year 2018. Even after this, all these people continued to reside there. Nandlal of the village had complained about these illegal encroachers and sought justice from the High Court. The court had ordered the Maholi tehsil administration to remove the illegal encroachment.
If there is no land to live in then we will give a lease: District Magistrate
District Magistrate of Sitapur district, Anuj Singh told The Mooknayak, “This action was taken on the orders of the court. In this case, a PIL was filed by a person in the court. An affidavit was sought from the court whether the illegal encroachment was removed or not.” This land belonged to a pond. Such constructions are often done on the land around the pond. Along with this, before taking advantage of government facilities on any land, the beneficiary has to ensure that the said land is not government. Schemes The process of getting the benefit of this happens at the block level. In such a situation, it is impossible to get the land checked every time. Since this construction was on a pond, the land of the pond cannot be allotted in anyone’s name. If these people do not have If there is no land, then lease will be given in the name of these families after seeing the new fallow, after which their houses will also be built.
