A group of former bureaucrats on Tuesday urged the Uttar Pradesh government to put on hold the demolition proceedings for 38 of the 40 buildings at Mohammad Ali Jauhar University, until all legal options for regularising the structures are exhausted.

The Constitutional Conduct Group wrote to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressing concern about the demolition order issued by the Rampur Development Authority on July 15.

The university was founded by jailed Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan. The authorities have said that all the buildings in the university campus except the medical college and the academic block were constructed “without approval”.

On Monday, the Moradabad Divisional Commissioner’s court stayed the demolition until the final hearing, The Hindu reported.

The retired civil servants said that while planning laws and judicial directions must be complied with, the “far-reaching consequences” of demolition of the buildings require careful consideration.

“A university is more than its buildings,” the letter read. “It represents the aspirations of thousands of students, the dedication of its faculty, the livelihoods of its employees, and years of investment in educational infrastructure.”

It also said that large-scale demolitions would disrupt classrooms, laboratories, libraries, hostels and other essential facilities, threatening academic activities and affecting the region’s educational ecosystem.

The former bureaucrats urged the state government to “exhaust” every legal option to regularise the buildings before demolition. They added that this could be done while ensuring compliance with structural safety, fire, environmental and public health norms.

“Only those structures that present genuine safety risks or cannot legally be regularised should be considered for demolition,” the letter said.

The 47 signatories to the letter include Punjab’s former Director General of Police Julio Ribeiro, Delhi’s former Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, former Indian ambassador Gautam Mukhopadhaya and former Indian Administrative Service officer and activist Harsh Mander.

University defends construction

The action was initiated based on a report by the regional junior engineer alleging unauthorised structures on the campus, Rampur District Magistrate Ajay Kumar Dwivedi said.

He said that the university management had been served a notice and given an opportunity to present its case.

The university submitted its reply on July 8, while a personal hearing was conducted on July 15.

During the hearing, the university said that the Singankhera village, where the campus is located, was not in the Rampur Development Authority’s jurisdiction before September 27, 2024. Therefore, the university argued, no approval was required for its building plans from the authorities.

The institution further contended that the buildings had been constructed much earlier and could not be declared unauthorised under the current rules.

However, the development authority rejected the arguments, saying that buildings in areas that are subsequently brought under its jurisdiction can be considered as lawful only if they had secured the approval from the authorities when they were constructed.

The order further alleged that the university management was aware of the need for prior approval, as it had obtained permission from the zila panchayat for two buildings but had constructed the other structures without sanction.

The university, established in 2006, was a prominent project for Khan. However, since the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power in Uttar Pradesh in 2017, the university has been involved in legal battles pertaining to land encroachment and alleged lease violations.

*Written by Anamika Pathak. Edited by Sara Varghese. *

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