Lucknow

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, during a high-level meeting on Monday, issued instructions to grant legal land ownership rights to families displaced from former East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and resettled in various districts of the State.

The Chief Minister said this is not merely a matter of land transfer, but an opportunity to honour the life struggles of thousands of families who took refuge in India across the national border and have been awaiting rehabilitation for decades. He urged officials to treat these families with empathy and respect, emphasising that it is the moral responsibility of the administration.

Officials informed CM Yogi that in the aftermath of Partition, between 1960 and 1975, thousands of families displaced from East Pakistan were rehabilitated in the districts of Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bijnor, and Rampur.

Initially, these families were settled in various villages through transit camps and were allotted land. However, due to legal and record-keeping discrepancies, most of them have not been able to obtain formal land ownership rights to this day, they said.

The Chief Minister was apprised that although agricultural land had been allotted to these displaced families in districts like Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, and Bijnor, administrative and legal complications such as clerical errors in records, land being registered under the Forest Department, delays in mutation processes, or the lack of actual possession have deprived them of lawful ownership rights. In some areas, displaced families from other states were also settled, who still remain without land titles.

As per current status, while many families have built permanent homes on the land they have cultivated for years, their names are yet to appear in official revenue records. On the other hand, in some villages, the originally settled families are no longer present. In some cases, land has been encroached upon without following legal procedures, which has further complicated the issue.

The Chief Minister instructed that in cases where land was previously allotted under the Government Grants Act, legal alternatives should be explored within the current legal framework, considering the act was repealed in 2018.

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CM Yogi stated that this sensitive initiative could open the door to new hope and a life of dignity for displaced families who have long been neglected. He emphasized that this should not be viewed merely as a rehabilitation measure, but as an act of "social justice, humanity, and national responsibility."