LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s campaign against organised crime has resulted in reported property action worth ₹15,233 crore under the Gangsters Act since 2017, with the state increasingly using reclaimed land for affordable housing projects for economically weaker families.
The state’s approach combines property attachment, demolition of illegal structures and confiscation following legal proceedings. The cumulative value of reported action has risen from ₹1,800 crore in August 2021 to ₹9,022.33 crore in March 2023, ₹11,841 crore in August 2023 and ₹14,246 crore by the end of 2024, reaching ₹15,233 crore by October 2026.
However, the figures cover different stages of enforcement and do not represent properties permanently transferred to the government in every case. Attachment places property under legal control pending proceedings, while final confiscation follows the applicable legal process.
Under the housing initiative, 148 flats have been completed and handed over to eligible families on specifically identified plots linked to criminal networks.
In Prayagraj’s Lukarganj area, 76 flats were constructed by the Prayagraj Development Authority under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Urban on land recovered from the network of former gangster politician Atiq Ahmed. The keys were handed over to beneficiaries on June 30, 2023, following construction at a cost of approximately ₹6.6 crore.
In Lucknow’s Dalibagh area, 72 economically weaker section flats were developed by the Lucknow Development Authority on land linked to Mukhtar Ansari and his family. Allotment letters were distributed on November 5, 2025. Each flat measures 36.65 square metres and is priced at ₹10.70 lakh.
Another major project is planned at Kasari Masari in Prayagraj, where the chief minister laid the foundation stone on October 15, 2026, for 1,200 homes under the Padmalok Awas Yojana. The project will be implemented in two phases, comprising 602 and 598 homes respectively, on land reclaimed from the Atiq Ahmed network.
Once completed, the three projects could take the total number of homes built on gangster linked land to 1,348.
The conversion of recovered land into housing remains a gradual process, as properties may be tied up in litigation or allocated for roads, parks and public facilities. A comprehensive public record separating attachments, final confiscations, demolitions and completed housing projects is still developing.
The initiative reflects the state’s effort to combine action against organised crime with affordable housing, although the number of completed homes remains considerably lower than the overall value of property action reported.
