Yogi Adityanath has taken up a big task of removing illegally built religious shrines in UP
The UP authorities led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has embarked upon a gigantic task of demolishing greater than 40,000 religious shrines like temples, mosques and mazaars (tombs) built illegally on authorities land. This follows an order from the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court dated June 3, 2016, in which the state authorities was requested to take away or shift these unlawful shrines that have been built by encroaching on public property after January 1, 2011.
This order is now being applied vigorously after a hole of almost 5 years. On March 12 this yr, the state residence division issued directions to all district collectors and police chiefs to demolish or shift all religious shrines built illegally since 2011 on roads or close to the roads on authorities land. The Yogi authorities has sought a compliance report inside two months.
The round despatched to all district collectors states that religious websites built on authorities land earlier than January 1, 2011, needs to be transferred to a personal property proposed by the followers of the respective religious web site or the individuals answerable for its administration inside six months. A compliance report have to be despatched to the federal government. If the High Court’s orders are usually not obeyed, the officers involved will probably be held accountable.
According to state authorities sources, the quantity of religious shrines built on illegally encroached authorities land has elevated significantly in the final ten years. The former BSP authorities, after 2009, had performed a survey in which almost 40,000 illegally built religious websites had been recognized.
The most shocking facet of this operation is that that is being carried out in a state like Uttar Pradesh, the place faith and caste points dominate political discourse. To date, there have been no protests or demonstrations or political sword rattling, and it’s indicative of the political dominance that the state authorities presently enjoys.
This is as a result of the authorities have been given a free hand: no discrimination on grounds of faith or caste, no differentiation between a temple, or a mosque or a mazaar, no fine-tuning to test whether or not the organizers assist which political get together or chief. Only paperwork are being checked and the plots are being marked and mapped. If a temple is discovered built on authorities land, the temple is being eliminated or if any half of the shrine has encroached public land, that portion is being demolished.
This work is at present in progress in all districts of UP. India TV reporters went to the illegally encroached spots in Lucknow, Barabanki and Ghaziabad and despatched their reviews. For instance, in Barabanki, a mazaar built close to a street in Fatehpur has been shifted, temples built on roads in Lucknow are being eliminated. The order is evident: if the unlawful encroachment was made after 2011, the shrines needs to be eliminated instantly, and if the encroachment is previous to the closing date, six months’ time is being given to take away the shrine.
In September 2009, the Supreme Court had dominated no unauthorized development shall be permitted in the identify of temple, church, mosque or gurdwara on public streets, public parks or locations. Reiterating its order, the Supreme Court, in 2011, had restrained state governments from granting permission to put in statues or erect any construction on public roads, pavements, sideways and different public utility areas.
The courtroom had then advised the Additional Solicitor General, showing for the Centre: “Construction of temples and mosques near drains and kiosks selling tobacco products is an insult to God. This is not due to faith but because people want to make money. The states must remove them.”
Now that the UP authorities led by Yogi Adityanath has undertaken this onerous task, it’s the accountability of all political events to lend assist to this operation. This ought to serve for example for different state governments too.
Yogi Adityanath has taken a daring step, as a result of no political chief would ever dare antagonize voters, whether or not Hindu or Muslim. Without pandering to religious communities, Yogi saved the pursuits of folks uppermost in his thoughts in order that they will journey or stroll with out hindrance. Due to the detached perspective of previous governments, mazaars have been even built on railway platforms, whereas temples or mosques have been built proper in the center of roads or at busy crossings.
On January 3 this yr, a Hanuman temple built on the central verge of Delhi’s Chandni Chowk was eliminated on Delhi High Court orders. On February 21, the metal body of the short-term shrine was erected once more in the center of the street, and the idol of Lord Hanuman, which had been saved in a retailer of Municipal Corporation, was mysteriously ‘lifted’ and positioned contained in the temple. The ‘restoration of the shrine at midnight was attended by none aside from the Mayor of North MCD, the native councillor and different leaders. Both the BJP and AAP leaders claimed that the “people of Chandni Chowk” have restored the shrine. Both the events stated that they had no problem with it. The Delhi municipal elections are due in April subsequent yr.
It is as a result of of the concern of dropping votes on religious grounds that political leaders enable such unlawful encroachments to happen. Nowadays leaders from completely different political events are providing prayers in temples and reciting Hanuman Chalisa and different shlokas at rallies, with a watch on Hindu voters. It is in this backdrop that the UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath has taken up this daring task of removing religious shrines in his state.
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