Issue 'white paper' on illegal encroachments in UP: Guv to CM

A day after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav apprised him of details of Mathura incident, Governor Ram Naik today asked the government to issue a status paper on illegal encroachments in the state.
In a letter to the chief minister, Naik asked the state government to issue a 'white paper' on illegal encroachment on land of parks, grazing grounds, ponds and public buildings by individuals or organisations, a Raj Bhawan release said.
The governor said the white paper be issued after obtaining a report from local bodies, development authorities and district magistrates regarding the area, market value of encroached properties, time since it has been encroached upon and the quantum of loss incurred by the owners, it said.

Directing the government to take back possession of such properties after getting the illegal occupants evicted, Naik said this should be done to ward off recurrence of Jawahar Bagh type of incident anywhere in the state.
In various districts, illegal occupants have grabbed government land and local courts have also issued eviction order from time to time but to no avail, the release said, adding these encroachments were also in violation of laws.
"In Jawahar Bagh, Mathura, a private organisation had not only encroached upon government land since the past few years, but was carrying out illegal activities from there. The state government could not implement the Allahabad high court orders and it was only when defamation petition was moved that administration tried to remove the encroachers," the release added.

In the clashes, 29 people, including two police officers were killed and a large number of people injured.