World Connect News
Lucknow (Special Report): The Yogi Adityanath government, which is taking strict action against illegal encroachers and land grabbers in Uttar Pradesh, is seriously considering bringing a special law to give statutory backing to the term and tag of ‘land mafia’. The main objective of this new legal framework, which is being prepared on the lines of the Gangster Act or the Goonda Act, or adding a special chapter to the existing law, is to define land mafias and set clear rules and standards for legal action against them.
Discussions began after the Allahabad High Court order
This move of the state government has come after the comment of the Allahabad High Court, in which the court had asked what is the legal basis for declaring a person as ‘land mafia’ at the administrative level without any clear statutory provision. Following the court’s stand during the hearing of the case of petitioner Banwari Lal in the High Court, several rounds of high-level meetings have been held between the Chief Secretary, officials of the Revenue, Law and Prosecution departments. The State Law Commission is now working on how to define ‘land mafia’.
Legal action will be taken against more than 1500 identified land mafias.
According to government data, currently around 1,500 persons are identified as ‘land mafia’ in the administrative records of Uttar Pradesh. The new special law will not only provide legal safeguards in the identification process but will also make it easier to effectively prosecute such accused in the courts and get them punished. According to the Principal Secretary (Law), the government is working on the draft of this bill in collaboration with legal experts so that the ‘zero tolerance’ policy against land mafias can be further strengthened in the future.
