UP govt bulldozed over 130 illegal constructions in 7 districts along Indo-Nepal border in 2 months

The Uttar Pradesh government on Thursday said it has demolished 130 unauthorised constructions, sealed 198 and has served notices to 223 along the Indo-Nepal borders, as part of an ongoing crackdown on illegal encroachments.

The crackdown, which spans across seven districts of the state in the last two months, is being carried out on illegal structures following directives of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, includes Eidgahs, madrasas, and mazars among others.

It targeted illegal structures across Pilibhit, Shravasti, Balrampur, Bahraich, Lakhimpur Kheri, Siddharthnagar, and Maharajganj, with Shravasti topping the list with action against 149 encroachments, an official statement said.

Shravasti District Magistrate Ajay Kumar Dwivedi said, "as per the chief minister's directive, action has been taken against illegal mosques, Eidgahs, madarsas, and mazars built on both government and private land within 10 km of the Indo-Nepal border." "So far, 149 illegal constructions have been identified in Shravasti. While notices have been served to all 149 structures, 140 constructions have been sealed, and 37 have been demolished," the official said and confirmed that action against illegal constructions is still ongoing.

Lakhimpur Kheri District Magistrate Durga Shakti Nagpal said that a total of 13 illegal constructions have been identified in the district, of which three have been demolished, 10 sealed and one served notice.

Similarly, action have been taken against 45 identified illegal construction in Maharajganj of which 24 have been sealed and 31 demolished, according to the official statement.

In Siddharthnagar, 23 illegal structures were identified, notices were issued to two, and 21 were demolished. In Bahraich, 25 such structures were found with five sealed and 15 demolished, it added.

Two illegal constructions were identified in Pilibhit, both of which have been demolished. In Balrampur, 41 illegal constructions were identified, of which one was served a notice, 19 sealed, and 21 demolished, it said.

Under Adityanath's directives, in the last 60 days, Shravasti led the crackdown on illegal constructions in border districts, followed by Maharajganj and Balrampur, the government said.