UP CM allays demolition fears for Kukrail river project in Lucknow

Lucknow, Jul 16 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday allayed the fears of residents of Pantnagar, Indraprasthanagar, Rahimnagar, and other areas here, who have been troubled for the past month by misleading reports about the demolition of their houses for the Kukrail river project.
     Properties or land parcels on the riverbed area will be acquired only after giving proper compensation to the owners as per the rules, the government said in a statement.
     The chief minister's statement comes after rumours about the demolition of properties for the river project had been circulating for the past month.
     He said that during flood plain zone marking, related signs were put on some buildings without offering explanation to the residents there, which created fear and confusion among them.
     The chief minister said accountability will be fixed in this matter and directed the officials concerned to immediately visit the area, meet the people and clear the confusion.
     Allaying the fear and confusion among the families affected by the Kukrail river revival project, who reached the chief minister's residence on Tuesday, Adityanath asserted that the state government is committed to the safety and peaceful life of the people living near the project area such as in Pantnagar, Indraprasthanagar, and Rahimnagar, the release said.
     "In the related case, the flood plain zone of the river has been marked as per the orders of NGT and this zone also includes private land, but there is neither any need nor any proposal to vacate the private land at present," the statement quoted Adityanath as saying.
     "There is no issue of demolition of private buildings built on private land under consideration," the chief minister added.
     The chief minister also gave necessary instructions for cleanliness and development of public facilities in the three areas.
     Interacting with the families who approached him over the matter, Adityanath said if any building owned by a private individual constructed on private land comes under the river bed development area, it will be acquired only after giving proper compensation as per the rules.
     After meeting the minister, the families expressed their gratitude to him and also raised slogans of "Yogi hai toh yakeen hai (There is faith where there is Yogi)", according to the statement.
     To make the Kukrail river pollution free and revive it, the irrigation department has recently marked the flood plain zone of the river as per the orders of National Green Tribunal. The action is being taken as per the notification of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)-2016.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)