UP: 38 buildings at Azam Khan’s Jauhar University to be demolished

Rampur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], July 16 (ANI): Mohammad Ali Jauhar University in Uttar Pradesh's Rampur is facing possible demolition action after the Rampur Development Authority (RDA) ordered the removal of 38 allegedly unauthorised buildings.
The Public Works Department (PWD) has installed a board on a road inside the university campus declaring it a public route for common use.
The RDA had issued a notice to the Jauhar Trust, which runs the university, on June 28, alleging that 82,309.80 square metres of construction within the campus was carried out illegally.
According to the authority, 38 blocks were constructed without obtaining approval of the building maps, while only two buildings had been built after securing permission from the District Panchayat.
The authority said the secretary of the Jauhar Trust failed to produce any evidence or permission related to the construction of the buildings within the stipulated period. It has now granted the trust an additional 15 days to remove the 38 buildings, warning that demolition proceedings will be initiated if the structures are not removed within the prescribed time.
The demolition order has been passed by the Vice Chairman of the Rampur Development Authority, who is also the Rampur District Magistrate, under the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973.
This is a major administrative action that has been initiated against Jauhar University, the flagship project of senior Samajwadi Party leader Mohammad Azam Khan, who is currently in jail in Rampur.
In May, a court in Rampur sentenced Khan to two years of simple imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 in connection with a 2019 case linked to derogatory "tankhaiyya" remarks made against district administration officials during the Lok Sabha election campaign. (ANI)