Lucknow: In a long-awaited move, the Uttar Pradesh government has initiated a fresh process to grant land ownership rights to families displaced from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) who have been living in various districts of the state for over six decades without legal recognition of their land.
In a recent high level meeting, senior officials were directed to take time bound and decisive steps to address legal hurdles and bring the displaced families into official land records. The districts primarily affected include Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri, Bijnor, and Rampur, where over 10,000 families have been residing since their migration between 1960 and 1975.
These families were initially settled in transit camps and given agricultural land to cultivate. However, most never received formal ownership due to administrative delays and overlapping claims many plots remained registered under forest departments or were never transferred completely. In some cases, families from other states were resettled on the same land, further complicating ownership.
Current surveys indicate that many displaced residents have been cultivating these lands for decades, building permanent homes and contributing to local economies, yet their names remain absent from official land records. In contrast, a number of the original allottees have moved away or passed on, and in some locations, informal occupation without due legal procedure has deepened the ambiguity.
Officials have now been asked to find alternative legal paths to resolve these legacy issues, especially after the repeal of the Government Grant Act in 2018, which had earlier governed such land allotments. District Magistrates have been tasked with conducting updated verifications and using existing legal provisions to fast-track recognition of long-term settlers.
The government’s move is being seen as a critical step toward correcting a historical oversight and acknowledging the struggles of displaced communities that have lived in administrative limbo for generations. Once implemented, the initiative is expected to bring legal certainty, security, and dignity to thousands of families who have called these lands home for over sixty years.
