We will free 1 lakh bighas from Congress netas and distribute among tribals in Sonbhadra, says Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath is halfway through his tenure. Kumar Anshuman and Sanjay Singh caught up with him in Delhi for a freewheeling interview. Excerpts:

You took all the ministers to IIM Lucknow for governance training. What is the outcome of the exercise?
It was not a classroom activity but a group discussion, where all the ministers including me participated. The results are very encouraging and we will be doing two more sessions with IIM in coming days. I had initiated the conversation with IIM around my cabinet reshuffle. It was quite an experience getting all ministers to my home and then traveling to the IIM campus in two UP state transport buses.

Any big idea after the first meeting?
Our biggest resource is our population, which itself is a big market. Previous governments had created a negative perception on law and order. We have tried to change that in the past two-and-half-years. Today, local and global investors are willing to invest in UP. Our lands are the most fertile and we can do tremendous work in agri-exports and food processing. In terms of infrastructure, we are improving road and air connectivity. Two freight corridors— Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor and Dedicated Freight Corridorare going through UP. We are working towards improving our connectivity through three new express ways — Purvanchal, Bundelkhand and Ganga. All these would give a major boost to UP’s economy in coming days.

What is the status of the defence corridor?
We have received excellent response on the project. Today, I held a meeting on the event to be held in Lucknow next February. More than 100 domestic as well as global companies will participate in the expo. We want to use this platform to attract investment into the defence manufacturing corridor. We have already created a land bank of 3,000 acres and we are trying to secure another 2000 acres by February next year. The DefExpo itself will match the scale of Kumbh. We have identified 300 acres outside Lucknow for hosting the exhibition.

But the opposition continues to target your government on law and order?
The opposition is unable to find issues to target the government. We have completed half of our term and not a single riot has taken place anywhere in UP. All the festivals have been celebrated peacefully. If the opposition is complaining, then to me it means we are moving in the right direction. We have brought down crime to a minimum level in the state.

How do you respond to Priyanka Gandhi’s accusations over Sonbhadra killings?
When we checked the 1952 papers, we found that the disputed land in Umbha was in the name of a Congress leader from Bihar. They formed a society and transferred the 1,400 bighas of land to the society between 1952 and 1955. In 1989, they transferred the land in their own name. Congress was in power in 1955 and 1989. In 2017, they sold this land to the village pradhan (head). He was trying to get possession of the land for the past two years, which led to the present dispute.

So, what is the government’s action plan now?
We are going to vacate over 1 lakh bighas in Sonbhadra alone and most of it is in possession of Congress leaders. When zamindari ended, a number of Congress leaders formed societies and transferred large parcels of land to themselves. We have formed a committee to look into such transacations. Let the committee report come out in three months and all these Congress leaders shall be exposed. One Congress leader in Mirzapur has 6,000 acres in the name of a farzi (fake) society. There was a committee formed by former chief minister Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna in 1972-73. The committee was asked to prepare a report, especially in the Vindhya region. The committee submitted its report in 1973 but no action was taken on it. We have got the report out and are now enquiring into the findings. The 1 lakh bighas, which are going to be vacated, belong to tribals, forest department and gram sabhas. I will return the recovered land to the (forest) department. I plan to give the gram sabha land to tribals. I am going to Umbha this month. Our effort will be to seize such land — spread largely across six districts as illegal societies mostly floated by Congress leaders – and distribute among tribals as per rules.

Why is the Samajwadi Party accusing the government for targeting Azam Khan?
As a former CM, Akhilesh (Yadav) has all the right to go anywhere in the state. But, the government won’t allow anyone to create trouble during Moharram or any festival.

The government will do whatever is possible under the law.No one can show even one case in the last two-and-half- years where we have acted against anyone without following the law of the land.

The government is being blamed for poor women security.
We have a proven track record on women security. In Oraiya, we completed the trial within 29 days and the accused has been given life imprisonment. In every district, there is a monitoring committee comprising the district judge, district magistrate and SP. The committee meets every month. These issues can be resolved through awareness and timely delivery of justice.

You had also formed a committee to look into sub- categorisation of OBC reservation. What’s the status on that?
First, the committee delayed the reports and then submitted incomplete reports. Now, a high-level committee will look into the issue and then give its report. Further action will be taken only after that.

Do you think UP also needs an NRC?
NRC is a very important step for the country, especially for internal security. It will be good If it could be implemented in phases in other parts of the country too.

Post the withdrawal of Article 370, a number of political prisoners from Kashmir have been put in UP jails.
Withdrawal of Article 370 is the biggest tribute to Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Sardar Patel and Baba Saheb Ambedkar. This would also pave the way for development of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

A number of prisoners are in UP jails.
This is a normal process and it is done keeping in mind the security aspect.

How has the government progressed on the stray cattle issue ?
With the government initiatives, the situation has improved. We are still working on it.