Yogi Adityanath hands over keys of 76 flats built on slain gangster's seized land

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath handed over keys of 76 flats built for the poor, on land confiscated from murdered gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, in Prayagraj on Friday.

Constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), the flats were allotted through a lottery on June 9. He interacted with children at the site of the flats that have been handed over to the beneficiaries and also inspected the flats for the poor. The chief minister also inaugurated 226 development projects in the city.

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Addressing a gathering, Yogi said, “This is the same state where before 2017 any mafia could grab the land of the poor, businessmen, or even government institutions. The poor could only look away helplessly then. Now, we are building homes for the poor on the same land that we have seized from these mafias, this is a big achievement.”

Beneficiaries will get a flat built on 41 square metres for only Rs 3.5 lakh. Officials said that a flat with two rooms, a kitchen, and toilet facilities costs Rs 6 lakh, news agency ANI reported. “The lottery was drawn for allotment in the auditorium of Allahabad Medical Association. After verification of 6,030 applicants, 1,590 were found eligible to participate in the lottery,” Arvind Kumar Chauhan, said Vice Chairman, Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA).

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Yogi Adityanath had on December 26, 2021, laid the foundation stone for this affordable housing project on 1,731 square meters of land after it was freed from the possession of Atiq Ahmed in the Lukerganj area of Prayagraj.

Atiq Ahmed was accused in the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal and also in the killing of a key witness in that case, Umesh Pal, in February this year. He and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were shot dead on live TV by men posing as journalists on April 15 night this year, while they were being taken for a medical examination in Prayagraj.