LUCKNOW: Following the passage of the Waqf Act-2024, efforts to reclaim government land from illegal structures, particularly madrasas, mosques, and other unauthorised religious sites, continued on Thursday across seven Uttar Pradesh districts bordering Nepal.
The state government has termed it a campaign launched under CM Yogi Adityanath’s directives to target illegal structures. Joint teams from the Revenue and Police departments are conducting coordinated operations to identify and remove encroachments, including unauthorised mosques, Eidgahs, and madrasas.
At the same time, unrecognised and non-compliant madrasas are being sealed. While unauthorised religious structures on government land are being demolished per legal procedures. So far, action has been taken against hundreds of illegal constructions, and the crackdown continues in full force.
The campaign is being run in the seven districts, including Bahraich, Shravasti, Balrampur, Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Maharajganj and Siddharthnagar, all sharing borders with Nepal.
According to available data, 227 encroachment cases were filed in Bahraich district, with 89 encroachments removed so far. The administration is taking action against all encroachments, except those pending in court.
As per the state minority affairs minister Danish Ali, the state government is acting only against the illegal madrasas. In UP, 16,500 recognised madrasas are there and rest all are illegal. “So the action is imperative,” said the minister.
According to officials, the drive is focused in districts along the Indo-Nepal border due to noticeable demographic changes identified through surveys conducted by the state government, following periodic directives from the Union Home Ministry. The state regularly shares updates on demographic shifts and related activities with the Centre.
In 2020, intelligence agencies raised an alert after a sudden rise in illegal structures, with over 200 madrasas and mosques reportedly established in the border districts. Uttar Pradesh shares a 551-km-long boundary with Nepal. A 2022 report submitted by the UP Police to the Centre expressed concern over the growing Muslim population in the districts adjoining the Indo-Nepal border.
As per sources, the 2022 report had claimed that the Muslim population in 1047 villages across seven districts bordering Nepal had gone up by 32 per cent to 50 per cent. Moreover, during the last four years, the number of madrasas and mosques has risen by 25 per cent from 1349 to 1688 in those villages. The UP Police reportedly linked the rise in encroachments and shifting demographics to infiltration.
According to the 2001 Census, Hindus made up 80.61% of the state’s population, while Muslims accounted for 18.50%. However, the 2011 Census reflected a demographic shift, with the Hindu population declining to 79.73% and the Muslim population rising to 19.26%. Conclusively, the decade from 2001 to 2011 saw a 1.4% decrease in the Hindu population and a 0.76% increase in the Muslim population.