Land procurement process begins for installation of Lord Ram's statue in Ayodhya

The Ayodhya district magistrate has started the process of land procurement for the installation of a 251-metre statue of Lord Ram, the dream project of the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh that was announced over two years ago, amidst objections by local villagers.

Ayodhya DM Anuj Kumar Jha issued a notification on Saturday to acquire the land in Manjha Barehta village of Haveli Awadh pargana in Faizabad's Sadar tehsil. The 85-hectare land to be acquired for the purpose is located at a distance of about five kilometres from the temple town of Ayodhya.

Meanwhile, some residents of the village where the land is located have started raising objections against the acquisition as they do not want to leave the land they have inhabited for four generations.

Talking to PTI, the DM said, "We have invited objections, so the owners can submit those within 15 days. The unauthorised occupants of the land will have to vacate it."

The project was announced by the Adityanath government in 2017.