The list of illegal land deals in Ayodhya constitutes 40 people, including BJP MLA Ved Prakash Gupta, city mayor Rishikesh Upadhyay and former BJP MP from Milkipur, Gorakhnath Baba.
Mumbai: Amid a furious ongoing controversy over illegal land deals in the temple town, the Ayodhya Development Authority (ADA) has released a list of 40 people involved in illegal land. The list includes the names of the local BJP MLA Ved Prakash Gupta, city mayor Rishikesh Upadhyay and former BJP MLA from Milkipur, Gorakhnath Baba, the Times of India reported.
While ADA Vice President Vishal Singh confirmed the agency released the list on Sunday, Gupta and Upadhyay denied the allegations against them and threatened to sue the officials for defamation.
ADA V-C Singh told to TOI, “We have identified 40 locations as illegally developed colonies so far. However, the number could be much higher. We are working to make Ayodhya a clean and corruption-free city so that it could be ready to become a world-class city.”
Land prices have risen in Ayodhya after it became a popular destination for religious tourists amid the November 2019 Supreme Court ruling in favor of the construction of Ram Temple. Last year, there were allegations of illegal land deals and opposition parties even accused the Temple Trust of being involved in these deals.
Also Read | With BJP-JDU Bonhomie Likely To End Soon, Here’s Look Back At Friction Between Two Allies
Although the Trust has vehemently denied its connection to such a deal, the ADA has now submitted the list of illegal settlers. Faizabad BJP MP Lallu Singh also wrote a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath last month calling for an SIT investigation into the “land mafia” operating in Ayodhya.
“The land mafia in Ayodhya is so powerful that they have created illegal plots on government nazul land and even on river banks. They are misleading people and selling plots at very high rates, just in the name of Ayodhya.” Singh wrote in his letter, reported TOI.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
