UP allots plots to 21 families living inside ASI-protected Saundhan fort

The Uttar Pradesh government has allotted 100-sq. m plots to 21 families living inside the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)-protected Saundhan fort in Sambhal, as part of a rehabilitation exercise aimed at clearing the historic monument for conservation, officials said on Thursday, 27 August.

The district administration has begun rehabilitating the families before removing their homes from the premises of the protected monument. Sambhal sub-divisional magistrate Vikas Chandra said land pattas (leases) had been sanctioned for all 21 families and possession of the allotted plots was being handed over.

"The Saundhan fort is an Archaeological Survey of India-protected site, and efforts have been made for a long time to preserve it. District magistrate Ankit Khandelwal had earlier inspected the site and directed that arrangements be made to rehabilitate all those living inside the fort," Chandra told reporters. "To that end, pattas have been sanctioned for 21 families. Along with the allotment, possession of the plots is also being given."

Five of the beneficiaries are widows, Chandra said, adding that the district administration would provide them houses under the Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana (chief minister's housing scheme). "Five of them are widows, and their families will be provided houses under the chief minister's housing scheme," he said. Each beneficiary has been allotted 100 sq. m of land.

The move comes amid efforts to conserve the fort, which officials said had faced challenges because families were living within the protected premises. The administration said rehabilitation was being undertaken before the residents were displaced to ensure that the conservation process did not leave the affected families without alternative accommodation.

Saundhan fort is a Mughal-era monument and was built in 1645 during the reign of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, according to information provided by the district administration.

The rehabilitation exercise is part of the broader push by the Uttar Pradesh government to develop Sambhal as a religious and tourism destination. Officials said the historic fort could become an attraction for visitors if it is properly conserved and its premises cleared of residential structures.

The rehabilitation of the families comes at a sensitive time for Sambhal, which has been at the centre of a contentious religious dispute and communal tensions over the past two years.

In November 2024, violence broke out during a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid, a Mughal-era mosque, following a petition claiming that the structure had been built on the site of a Hindu temple. The second phase of the survey on 24 November triggered clashes between protesters and police, in which five people were killed and several others injured.

The violence led to restrictions on movement and public gatherings in the town, an internet shutdown and multiple criminal cases. The state government subsequently set up a judicial commission to inquire into the circumstances surrounding the clashes. The dispute over the mosque has continued through the courts, with the Supreme Court directing the trial court in November 2024 not to proceed with the survey-related matter until the Muslim side's challenge was considered by Allahabad High Court.

The controversy has since formed part of a wider effort by the Uttar Pradesh government to promote Sambhal as a centre of Hindu pilgrimage and religious tourism. In 2025, the state announced funds for the redevelopment of religious sites in the district, including the Kalki Dham temple, while the administration has also sought to identify and develop historical and religious sites for visitors.

The move to conserve Saundhan fort and develop it as a possible tourist attraction therefore comes against this backdrop. While officials have presented the rehabilitation of the 21 families primarily as a heritage-conservation exercise, the wider redevelopment of Sambhal has acquired added significance because of the town's recent communal tensions and the competing claims over its religious and historical identity.

With PTI inputs