In the wake of the resistance not only from the Opposition but also from within the party, the BJP Government in Uttar Pradesh had to shelve the Nazul Property (Management and Use for Public Purposes) Bill-2024 at least till the next session despite having a majority in the Legislative Council (Upper House).

However, the Yogi Adityanath Government is continuing with its preparations to amend the Bill so that it could be approved in the next session.

Sources in the government disclosed on Sunday that in the previous governments, freehold Nazul land worth billions of rupees was bought and sold at throwaway prices. From the land mafia to the politicians and bureaucrats, all were involved in this game to serve their own interests by using public welfare as a shield.

“With the implementation of the law, not only will the Nazul land worth billions of rupees be used in the public interest but the game of making Nazul land freehold by indulging in irregularities could also be exposed,” sources said.

In fact, recently, when the Uttar Pradesh Nazul Property (Management and Use for Public Purposes) Bill-2024 passed by the Assembly amid strong protests and uproar reached the Legislative Council on August 1, the BJP itself backed out from the legislation.

The reason behind the demand for sending the Bill to a select committee was to blunt the edge of the Opposition making this law a big issue by terming it as anti-people, a senior BJP leader claimed. Neither the Yogi Government nor the BJP organization wants the Opposition to get a chance to mislead the public in any way before the by-elections for 10 assembly seats, the leader added.

The recommendations of the select committee will be placed in the next session of the Legislature. According to the recommendations, the amended bill will be passed and sent to the Governor for approval. The related law will be implemented as soon as the Governor’s approval is received.

There are around 75,000 acres of Nazul land in the state, the value of which is estimated at Rs 2 lakh crore. There is no dearth of disputes over the possession of Nazul land. Many valuable and big lands are also in the possession of land mafia and influential people.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had already formed a four-tier anti-land mafia task force to ensure action against the land mafia. In the last four and a quarter years, the Revenue and Police Department have taken action as part of the campaign against the land mafia.

According to the data of the Revenue Department, about 1,54,249 acres of land has been freed from encroachment. Around 2,464 encroachers were identified and 187 of land mafia were arrested and sent to jail. In these cases, 22,992 revenue cases, 857 civil cases and 4,407 FIRs were registered.

The game of taking possession of Nazul land and making it freehold on the basis of fake documents is quite old in the state by paying only 10 per cent of the circle rate and has been going on for a long time. The maximum Nazul land is in Prayagraj, Kanpur, Ayodhya, Sultanpur, Gonda and Barabanki. Prayagraj has been the biggest center for getting freehold of Nazul lands, where most of the land in the Civil Line area belongs to Nazul.

About three decades ago, a committee constituted by the Central government under the leadership of former Home Secretary NN Vohra had given its report regarding Nazul land. The Vohra Committee report of 1993 expressed concern over the organised gangs of politicians, criminals, land mafia, bureaucrats and people associated with the judiciary and said that “the main source of income in big cities is related to real estate.”

Forcible occupation of land/buildings by driving out existing residents/tenants and purchasing such properties at throwaway prices were rampant.