Uttar Pradesh scraps 15 public holidays
‘Antiland mafia task force’ to check land grabbing
LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh cabinet on Tuesday decided to scrap 15 public holidays that were declared, over the years, to mark the birth/death anniversaries of eminent leaders and a few festivals. Most of the scrapped holidays were declared by the Samajwadi Party governments.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath presided over the cabinet meeting that also decided to constitute an ‘anti-land mafia task force’ to check land grabbing and free land encroached by the land mafia.
“Uttar Pradesh government has lesser number of working days. The cabinet decided to scrap 15 holidays declared to mark birth/death anniversaries of eminent leaders. Now, government offices, schools and colleges will remain open on these days. Special lessons, focusing on life of such eminent personalities, would be taught in schools/colleges on their birth/death anniversaries,” said UP minister Shrikanth Sharma while briefing media persons.
Sharma said educational institutions would be free to decide about the activity they may like to plan on the birth/death anniversary of these eminent personalities. The state government has about 40 public and 17 restricted holidays. The 15 scrapped public holidays have been put in the restricted holiday list.
Speaking on the 126th birth anniversary of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar on April 14, the CM had expressed concern over the shrinking academic session in view of rising number of public holidays in the state.
Sharma said the anti-land mafia task force would be constituted at state, division, district and tehsil levels.
He said chief secretary and respective divisional commissioners would head the task force at state and division level, respectively.
He added that district magistrates and SDMs would lead the force at district and tehsil levels.
Sharma said a survey would be conducted in the next two months to identify government land in illegal possession of land mafia.
He said the state government would display names on website of those involved in illegal possession of land.