BAREILLY: A family of three — a widow in her 50s and her son and daughter — was forced to seek shelter at a friend’s house after they were evicted from their home in Chandausi town in Uttar Pradesh’s Sambhal district within an hour after officials served an evacuation notice claiming the structure encroached on the entrance of a “historic” stepwell unearthed last month.
Senior officials said the family of Gulnawaz B, 54, had forged their land documents and had been told to evacuate the house around three weeks ago. The municipal council issued a 24-hour deadline to the family on Friday evening, but administrative pressure led to them being forced out of their home immediately.
Eviction notices under the Uttar Pradesh Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1972, must provide a minimum of 10 days for the occupants to respond. Under the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973, notices for unauthorised constructions typically allow 15 to 40 days for rectification or appeal before enforcement.
The notice was delivered to Gulnawaz around 5pm, asking them to vacate the premises within 24 hours. However, by 6pm, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Nidhi Patel and tehsildar Dhirendra Singh arrived with a team and a bulldozer, forcing the family to leave immediately. The authorities said the house needed to be cleared as the stepwell’s entrance was located beneath it.
Speaking to TOI, Gulnawaz, 54, expressed her distress, saying, “I have lost my house, and no compensation has been promised. How will my son rebuild our home? The officials told us to file an FIR against those who sold us the land, but we don’t know where to start.” Her son, Shakeeb, who is 35, added, “My father, a carpenter, built this house in 2017. My mother supports the family by sewing. We don’t know where to go in this bitter cold and have requested help from the administration,” he said.
Sambhal DM Rajender Pensiya said, “The house registration documents were fake, and the property was fraudulently sold. The family was verbally informed about this 20-25 days ago, and they had agreed to demolish the house themselves. Their name has now been included in the eligibility list under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.”
The stepwell was discovered on Dec 21 during an excavation prompted by complaints of illegal encroachment. Three floors of the historic structure have been uncovered so far, but work was halted last month after a portion of the stepwell was found to be beneath nearby houses. Notices were issued to residents, asking them to provide documents for verification.
An official involved in the excavation said, “The stepwell is critical for water conservation. Cracks have been found in its walls, and debris from nearby structures was adding pressure to it. By law, no construction is permitted on stepwell land.”