Yogi directs officers to not bulldoze properties of poor

April 08, 2022 15:57

With bulldozers running overtime to raze structures built out of illegally earned money in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday gave a clear-cut instruction to officials to not use them to demolish huts and shops of the poor.

"Bulldozers should not be used on the huts and shops of the poor. It should be applied only against illegally earned wealth of criminals and mafias. Action should be taken against people who have forcibly taken away properties of the poor and traders," Adityanath said in his order to "bulldozerbaaz officials", according to a statement.

Adityanath has of late earned the nickname "bulldozer baba", which helped the party create a narrative of tough administration in the state polls. Such is the fear of bulldozers in UP that over 50 criminals have given themselves up to police in two weeks after the BJP returned to power in the state.

"Bulldozers are giving a message that the criminals and mafias no longer control the system in Uttar Pradesh. It is also building confidence of the poor in the government," Additional Chief Secretary (Information) Navneet Sehgal told PTI.

Many known toughies and influential politicians of the state too have faced the wrath of the bulldozer. A petrol pump that had allegedly been built illegally by Samajwadi Party MLA Shazil Islam Ansari was bulldozed on Thursday, days after the legislator was booked over a provocative remark against Adityanath.

The demolition of the fuel station at Parsakheda on the Bareilly-Delhi National Highway was carried out by the Bareilly Development Authority, an official said. It was not an isolated case. The Shamli district administration had on Wednesday freed a land allegedly encroached by Samajwadi Party MLA Nahid Hasan's uncle Sarvan Hasan in Kairana by razing the structure there.

A joint team of Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA), district administration, and police had on Monday demolished a wall and two sheds alleged to have been constructed without approval on the land of jailed don and former MP Atiq Ahmad's ancestral house in Chakia locality of the city.

The PDA had razed Atiq's ancestral house on September 22, 2020. Visuals of many absconding criminals walking to police stations with placards hanging around their necks with messages like 'I am surrendering, don't shoot me, please!' surfacing on social media show the panic among history-sheeters.

More than 50 criminals have not only surrendered but have also pledged to shun crime in the past fortnight, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar had told PTI.

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