On June 30th, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath handed over keys to 76 flats built for the poor on land confiscated from slain mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed in Prayagraj. The flats were constructed as part of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) and were distributed via lottery on June 9.
Verification of the applicants for 76 flats built under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana on land freed from the possession of mafia Atiq Ahmed in the Lukerganj area of Prayagraj has been completed by the district Urban Development Authorities (DUDA). As many as 6,030 people had applied online for the flats. Of these, 5127 people were found ineligible. 903 applicants are found eligible.
The chief minister and his deputy, Keshav Maurya, were seen inspecting the flats and interacting with children in photos from the site. At a later event, the Chief Minister distributed allotment letters and keys to the recipients. The Prayagraj Development Authority completed the construction of these flats in less than a year and a half.
“Before 2017, any mafia could capture the land of the poor, leaving them helpless,” CM Yogi Adityanath said at the event. However, we are now building flats for the poor on the land that has been freed of such mafias, it is a great achievement.”
Prayagraj Development Authorities (PDA) secretary Ajit Kumar Singh earlier said, “The District Urban Development Agency (DUDA), entrusted with the responsibility of completing the verification of those who had applied for the flats, found that 85% of applicants did not fit the criteria. DUDA has given us a list of 903 applications but we have asked them to give us the details pertaining to the criteria based on which the application was rejected.”
The PDA has developed two ground plus three-story structures on a plot of land measuring 1731 sqm. Block A has 36 flats, whereas Block B has 40. The state government purchased this land in September 2021, and the foundation stone for the project was laid by Chief Minister.
These apartments include one bedroom, one living room, one kitchen, one toilet, one bathroom, a balcony, electricity, sewage and parking. These flats are allotted on the basis of reservation to Scheduled Castes and Tribes, Other Backward Classes, Physically Handicapped and Senior Citizens.