Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday (Feb 3) said that his government freed nearly 65,000 acres of land from illegal occupation after issuing a decisive 24-hour ultimatum to land mafias in the initial days of his first term in 2017. He said the strong action transformed a state once crippled by encroachments into one with a functional land bank capable of supporting large-scale industrial growth.
Speaking at the ‘Uttar Pradesh Pharma Conclave 1.0’ in Lucknow, Adityanath told global investors and entrepreneurs that when his government assumed office, illegal land कब्जा had reached alarming proportions, leaving the state with virtually no land available for industrial development. “When we assumed office in 2017, there was no land bank available in Uttar Pradesh because large tracts of land were occupied by mafias,” he said.
Recalling the early steps taken by his government, the chief minister said he had publicly issued a 24-hour warning to land grabbers occupying government land. “I said I am giving 24 hours. Whoever has illegally occupied government land in Uttar Pradesh must vacate it immediately,” Adityanath stated, sharing a clip of his earlier remarks on social media.
He said the government backed the warning with concrete administrative action by constituting a dedicated Bhu Mafia Task Force, tasked with systematically identifying land mafias, mapping illegal encroachments, and reclaiming public land. “As a result, around 65,000 acres of land were vacated, which later became our land bank,” the chief minister said.
CM Yogi added that the recovered land has played a critical role in facilitating industrial projects, infrastructure development and investment proposals, particularly under the state’s push to position Uttar Pradesh as a manufacturing and pharmaceutical hub.
Reiterating the government’s zero-tolerance approach, the chief minister said strongmen and land mafias would continue to face stringent legal action and that no offender would be spared, irrespective of political or social influence.
The Uttar Pradesh government has also launched a dedicated online portal to enable citizens to register complaints related to land grabbing, enabling faster identification and action against illegal encroachments.
Speaking earlier during the weekly Janta Darshan at the Gorakhnath Temple, Adityanath directed officials to take swift and uncompromising action against illegal land occupation across the state. He said that ensuring justice, security and economic prosperity for every citizen remains a core priority of his administration, and warned that the crackdown on land mafias would continue without dilution.
