MP’s anti-mafia drive which ran for 3 years:15,000 acres freed from land mafia; 90% property reoccupied by politicians

Under the anti-mafia campaign of the Shivraj government, the government lands that were earlier freed from encroachment have been occupied once again. BJP leaders are alleged to be at the forefront of grabbing this land. The shocking part is that the very land mafias from whom the land was reclaimed earlier have reoccupied most of these places. Between 2020 and 2022, a total of 15,397 acres of government land was freed from mafias across the state. The estimated value of this land was around Rs 11,941 crore. However, after the drive, district administrations neither updated the records nor monitored these lands at any level. As a result, most of these lands are now under the possession of BJP leaders. The Bhaskar team visited several districts — Sagar, Vidisha, Chhatarpur, Sheopur, Ashoknagar, Morena, Datia, Shivpuri and Rajgarh, to verify the facts on the ground. In many places, shops, houses and garages have been built again, while on some lands farming has started. Out of the total reclaimed land, 1,828.13 acres have been allotted for housing schemes and government work, but the re-encroachment on the remaining land has raised serious questions. Read the full report.. 15 acres govt land encroached, plotted sold to others in Chhatarpur During the anti-mafia drive, 8,175 acres of government land had been freed in Chhatarpur district. In Ward-17, former BJP Yuva Morcha functionary Halke Yadav encroached upon 15 acres, plotted it, and gave possession to several people. The administration removed the encroachment and allotted the land to a Divyang Rehabilitation Centre. However, Yadav again occupied the land and encroached upon the centre’s portion as well. He claims that 300 people had applied for housing leases, which the administration rejected. BJP General Secretary his relatives occupy Vidisha school land In Sangul village of Vidisha, 13 bighas of high school land are under the possession of BJP Mandal General Secretary Deepak Dhakad and his relatives. They are farming on the land, due to which construction of the new school building and land demarcation have stalled. Dhakad, a supporter of MLA Suryaprakash Meena, claims people from another community were trying to occupy the land, so he “secured” it. Nateran SDM Ajay Pratap Singh said the matter is known, and encroachment will be removed when the school or panchayat requests action. 65 acres of Sagar’s university land again under cultivation In Rajaua village of Sagar, 65 acres worth Rs 35 crore were freed from land mafias and allotted to the university. Sarpanch Rajesh Chadhaar said Khuman Patel, Shriram Patel, Hemant Patel and Shobharam Patel, among others, have occupied the land again and sown wheat and gram crops. Complaints were filed through the village kotwar, but no action was taken. Hemant Patel claims they will vacate once university construction begins. Sagar Commissioner Anil Suchari said encroachments in Chhatarpur and Sagar will be removed. Sheopur’s minority wing leader rented out encroached land Near Banjara Dam, a garage belonging to former BJP Minority Morcha district president Yusuf Pathan was partially demolished during the anti-mafia drive. But further action did not follow, and now a liquor shop is operating there. Pathan claims the entire settlement is on government land and that his garage was demolished due to political rivalry. Sheopur Additional Collector Rupesh Upadhyay said the encroachment would be examined and action taken. Encroachments return elsewhere too In Datia, a BJP leader’s warehouse demolished by the municipality was later replaced with tin-shed shops. In Ashoknagar, illegal structures and plots were developed on a government drain behind Mandsaur Mill. JCB action was taken earlier, but the land has been occupied again. Government’s response Karan Singh Verma, Revenue Minister said, ‘If the reclaimed lands have been encroached again, I will get it examined. I will instruct officials to remove the encroachments, bring the land back under government control and keep records updated.’