Curation Team
MEERUT: Residents of Indranagar Colony in the Garh Mukhteshwar area of Hapur are living in fear after eviction notices were issued to 41 houses, mostly owned by Dalits, deeming them to be illegally built on the municipal corporation’s land. Surprisingly, many of these houses were constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) after receiving govt approval, and have now been declared illegal.
In the legal notice, the Hapur Municipal Corporation alleged that 41 homes were constructed on 10 bighas of land belonging to the civic authority. Locals claimed that the land, which the Nagar Nigam now designates as their property, has been populated for approximately 40 years.
“The area is developed by the municipal department; we receive electricity and water bills. If the houses are illegal, why did no one notice for so many years? Many of them were built after securing a PMAY loan, which is given only after verification of documents,” said Rampal, a local.
Another resident, Bijendra Singh, claimed that the govt developed plots of 100 square yards each on this land in 1986. “Some shops and plots were developed on the land and issued to allottees. Since then, we have been living here and have never heard of illegal accommodation until now. To our surprise, the notice has come now,” said Singh.
Additional district magistrate (F/R) Sandeep Kumar told TOI that the families have been instructed to submit documents related to their leases and houses, and actions will be taken accordingly.
“A complaint was received through the Integrated Grievance Redressal System (IGRS) about the disputed land, and it was found that these houses were built by encroaching on a pond,” he said, adding, “A legal notice has been issued, and actions will be taken after due consideration.
“An investigation will also be conducted to check how they managed to get PMAY scheme benefits. Actions will be taken against those responsible,” Kumar added.
Hapur DM Prerna Sharma and SDM Garh Mukhteshwar were unavailable for comments despite multiple attempts.
