UP: 7 unrecognised madrassas closed in Shravasti

SHRAVASTI: Authorities here closed seven madrassas on Sunday due to non-submission of documents for their recognition, officials said. With this, 17 madrassas have been closed in two days. During these two days, government land within a 15-km radius of the India-Nepal border was freed by clearing 119 illegal encroachments as part of a special campaign, the officials said.

Three madrassas in Bhinga tehsil and four in Jamunaha tehsil were closed as they did not submit any valid documents for their recognition, the district administration said in a statement. "There are a total of 297 madrassas in Shravasti district and 192 of these are unrecognised.

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On Saturday, 10 madrassas were closed within the 15 km-radius of the India-Nepal border. Many irregularities were found in them. "Most of these were being operated secretly, some were being run illegally in rented houses or homes and some in semi-constructed buildings," District Minority Welfare Officer Devendra Ram told PTI.

According to the statement, the action is being taken against illegal and unrecognised madrassas on the instructions of District Magistrate Ajay Kumar Dwivedi. Action has been taken under Section 67 of the Revenue Act to free government land falling within the 15-km radius of the India-Nepal border from encroachments like illegal concrete houses, among other things, the statement said.