Following a directive from the Allahabad high court, the district administration of Bahraich carried out a demolition operation on Wednesday, bulldozing 23 illegal structures in a village within Kaiserganj, sparking protests from the local residents. Simultaneously, similar enforcement actions were witnessed in Kannauj and Fatehpur, where authorities targeted unauthorized constructions.
In Kaiserganj, the demolition occurred in Wazirganj Bazar of the Sarai Jagna gram panchayat under the supervision of Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Alok Prasad. According to Prasad, the structures demolished included 11 shops, eight houses, and four tin sheds, claimed to be illegally built on government land designated for a barn and road. The high court’s order followed a public interest litigation (PIL) by a local resident, Hadisul, prompting the administration to issue evacuation notices to the occupants.
Residents of the village, however, protested the demolition, asserting that most affected properties belonged to minority community members, some of whom had been living there for generations. They claimed that several demolished structures were constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, indicating a potential conflict over the legality of the demolitions.
Further actions were taken in Kannauj, where the SDM of Tirva, Ashok Kumar, reported the demolition of unauthorized structures at Umarda Primary School following complaints about illegal constructions on school property by the village head. In Fatehpur, a significant clearance operation along a 7.3-kilometer road stretch from Bandhwa to Chilla Bridge saw the removal of encroachments, with 137 structures identified and 24 demolished by authorities. The remaining encroachments were given a month’s notice to vacate.
These actions come in the wake of a September 2 Supreme Court ruling that underscored the non-protection of unauthorized constructions on public lands, despite raising concerns about the demolition of properties merely based on accusations. The top court’s stance was clear: “We are not going to protect any unauthorized construction or encroachment on public roads. Not even the temples on public roads.”
