Prayagraj Nazul saga-- history, legal battles; residents’ future tense
Nazul land in Prayagraj also houses around 10,000 middle-class and lower-middle-class families who have been living here for generations. These people had hoped that one day a new law of freehold would fulfill their dream of fully owning a home, but now everyone’s dream seems set to be shattered.
PRAYAGRAJ: The city of Sangam, known for the sacred confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and the mythical Saraswati, revered as the land of the grand Kumbh fairs, also houses a huge pool of Nazul land. These lands, originally seized by the British from royals and others who participated in the 1857 war of independence, were leased to British loyalists.
As Bill has yet to see the light of day, the Nazul land in Prayagraj, worth several crores, is caught in the maze of tripartite interests. The government seeks the land for development and public welfare projects, while those currently in possession are reluctant to relinquish it, as much of it lies in the posh areas of the city. However, the most affected would be the common people who have been residing in their ancestral houses built on Nazul land for decades.
Located in the heart of Civil Lines, the sprawling, lush green campus of a prominent and one of the oldest intermediate schools in Prayagraj that began functioning in 1861 is presently running on the land whose lease has expired according to records from the district administration’s office dealing with Nazul land.
Interestingly, it is not alone. There are many such prominent schools, which have been running for years on Nazul land and have contributed immensely to educating generations, are now unsure of their own future in light of the Uttar Pradesh Nazul Properties (Management and Utilization for Public Purposes) Bill, 2024, as the lease on their Nazul land has also expired.
Survey ordered to update Nazul records
When the bill was tabled in the assembly, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna said that its purpose was to make land available for development activities, which would otherwise require significant expenditure for acquisition.
As the bill has yet to become a reality, district officials have already started the process of updating the existing Nazul records and verifying the exact status of Nazul land in Prayagraj. “The Prayagraj Nagar Nigam is the nodal body for the Nazul land, and therefore we have written to it seeking updated information regarding all such properties,” said ADM (Nazul) Pradeep Kumar Yadav.
A scrutiny of the nazul land records show that in just the urban areas of Sangam city, a large part of Civil Lines, Ashok Nagar, Rajapur, Lukerganj, Shivkuti, and Georgetown is settled on Nazul land. Besides, some land in the Tagore Town area has become freehold, but parts of it are still on Nazul land. Today, lakhs of houses have been built on these plots, with people living there for generations.
Government land records show that while there were 7 lakh square metres of Nazul land in Prayagraj, only about one-third has been converted to freehold. Around 2 lakh square metres of the land was acquired by the state government for various projects, but leaseholders moved to court, and status quo is being maintained as the matter is being heard by the Supreme Court since 2017-18. Prayagraj has around 200 Nazul properties on ‘perpetual lease,’ which can be passed on to the next generation but not sold, and 50 properties on ‘intimation lease,’ where leaseholders can transfer the lease to another with an intimation to the government. Out of the 1,000 prime Nazul properties, 90% have their leases expired as of now.
Meanwhile, district officials maintain that they are currently forwarding any details requested by the state government regarding Nazul land in Prayagraj. Further action will be taken after an order by the state government and the proposed bill being adopted, they said.
Litigations galore
Regarding litigations, there are hundreds of cases involving Nazul land in different courts across the state. Records show that 12 cases are pending in the Supreme Court alone, involving 26 bungalows in Prayagraj that the state government wants to use for city development and welfare projects, while 40 cases are pending in the Allahabad high court. The HC is also hearing around 70 petitions, including 50 filed from Prayagraj alone, challenging the UP Nazul Properties Bill-2024, according to a senior official of the district administration.
Bill a cause of concern for many
The state legislative council (Vidhan Parishad) may have referred the Uttar Pradesh Nazul Properties (Management and Utilization for Public Purposes) Bill, 2024, to a select committee on August 1, a day after it was passed in the UP Assembly amid uproar by the opposition and reservations expressed over it by even a BJP member, but the bill continues to be a cause of concern for many.
The UP Nazul Properties Bill-2024 is generating a lot of anxiety in Prayagraj as it can hurt a large number of people, from the elite to the ‘Aam Aadmi.’ Officials concede that besides prominent landmarks like the Allahabad high court, the office of the Accountants General, Government Press, and even parts of All Saints’ Cathedral, many schools and colleges located nearby are on Nazul land and so are houses and properties of prominent politicians, judges, and senior high court lawyers as well as their kins.
However, Nazul land in Prayagraj also houses around 10,000 middle-class and lower-middle-class families who have been living here for generations. These people had hoped that one day a new law of freehold would fulfill their dream of fully owning a home, but now everyone’s dream seems set to be shattered.
Fear of losing homes grips many
Mohd Guddu, Arshad, Dabbu Khan, and others have been living in the Azad Nagar area of Kareli for many years. However, around two years ago, they received notices from Nagar Nigam to submit documents for their properties. “I purchased a plot around a decade ago and used all my savings to build a house on it. My family and I now fear that we will be homeless again,” says Arshad.
“No officials intervened when constructions were done on these lands, which were registered as Nazul land in government records. Now thousands of homes have been built where families have been residing for years. They will be homeless if they are evicted,” says Guddu.
Congress leader and former MLA of the Allahabad North Assembly seat Anugrah Narayan Singh called this decision by the state government completely against the poor. He said that the state government had increased the troubles of thousands of people in Prayagraj with its move.
Others opposing the Bill include Kunda MLA and Jansatta Dal (Loktantrik) chief Raghuraj Pratap Singh, Congress MLA Aradhana Mishra ‘Mona’, and BJP MLAs from Prayagraj Harshvardhan Bajpai and Sidharth Nath Singh. Singh suggested that those with bona fide ownership of Nazul land should have their leases renewed.
“The Bill needs to be looked into again and changes made so that it does not end up huring the thousands of lower middle-class and middle-class people living on these land for generations. At a time when we (state and the central government) are providing houses to the poor, the bill can end up hurting thousands of vulnerable people,” said BJP MLA from Prayagraj’s Allahabad North seat Harshvardhan Bajpai.
Meanwhile, Harshvardhan Bajpai said that at a time when houses were being provided to the poor, the Bill could end up harming thousands of vulnerable people. He also declared that he did not possess any Nazul land and was only concerned about the people of Prayagraj.
Around 1,800 people in the district deposited ₹5 crore with the administration to convert Nazul land into freehold. Now, the hopes of these people also seem set to be dashed. However, they will get their money back with interest.