76 Flats Built On Land Seized From Gangster Allotted To Poor In UP

In a gesture that would further glisten the image of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh has allotted 76 1-BHK flats, which are built in Prayagraj on the land confiscated from the illegal occupation of slain gangster Atiq Ahmed, to the poor.

There were 6,030 applicants, of which 1,590 were found as eligible claimants for the flats after verification. The Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) yesterday held a draw of lots to determine the allottees. The process of handing over possession of the flats to the allottees will be taken up soon, said PDA vice-chairman Arvind Chauhan.

The land located in Lukarganj area, where the mafia don used to reside and also run his office from, was freed by the authorities during an anti-encroachment drive in 2021. CM Yogi Adityanath had laid the foundation stone for the affordable housing project built on the 1,731-square metre site on 26th December the same year.

According to the government guidelines, the flats were allotted on the basis of the reservation rules for Other Backward Class (OBC), Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), physically challenged and senior citizens. Each flat is equipped with modern facilities and has a bedroom, a living room, a kitchen, a toilet, a bathroom, a balcony, electricity, sewerage and parking facility.

Two four-storey towers have been built in the area where the cost of such a flat is Rs 6 lakh. However, the allottees will have to pay only Rs 3.5 lakh each while the Central government will give a subsidy of Rs 1.5 lakh and the State government Rs 1 lakh.

Block-A in the complex has 36 flats whereas Block-B has 40. The flats were constructed by the District Urban Development Authorities (DUDA) under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY). Once all the official procedures are completed, the flats will be handed over to the beneficiaries by CM Yogi himself.

Atiq and his gangster brother Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists while the duo was being taken to a city medical college for a routine checkup on 15th April this year. Atiq was accused in the 2005 murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA Raju Pal and also in the killing of a key witness in that case, Umesh Pal, in February this year.