Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday directed officials to provide land ownership to over 10,000 families which were displaced from the then East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, between 1960 and 1975, and settled in and around Pilibhit, Lakhimpur, Bijnor and Rampur.The CM said if land was not available, alternative plots should be provided to affected families. Officials said that though these families were settled for years and constructed homes, land had not been transferred to them legally for various reasons.Calling this action a “national responsibility” and not just a matter of land transfer, the CM said, “This would be an opportunity to acknowledge the years of struggle these families went through after leaving their homes and moving to India to resettle.”“These families, which took refuge in India and have waited for rightful rehabilitation, must be treated with sensitivity and dignity. It is the moral responsibility of the govt,” he said.The CM said that with the repeal of the Govt Grants Act in 2018, it was necessary for the govt to explore alternate legal mechanisms to provide land rights to the resettled families. He directed officials to look for new provisions within existing laws to address these issues.“This is not just a policy decision. It is a sensitive and historic step toward delivering justice to those displaced families which have lived in uncertainty for decades. This effort must be viewed through the lens of social justice, humanity and national responsibility. It is a chance to restore dignity to lives long overlooked,” the CM said.During a meeting on Monday, officials told the CM that between 1960 and 1975, thousands of families left the then East Pakistan due to communal violence and settled in Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bijnor and Rampur districts. Once they left transit camps, these families were settled in these districts and provided agricultural land, but even now, most of them do not have legal ownership due to discrepancies in records and administrative delays.“Although land has been allotted in several villages, various legal and administrative hurdles, including land being recorded under the forest department, incomplete transfer procedures, and a lack of physical possession, have prevented many families from receiving formal land rights. In some areas, families from other states have also been resettled but continue to remain without legal ownership,” an official informed the CM.“In many villages, the displaced families have been cultivating land for years and have even constructed permanent homes, but their names are missing from official land records. There are cases of original allottees no longer residing in these areas. Additionally, in certain areas, individuals have taken possession of land without completing the necessary legal formalities, leading to complications,” the official said.
