PRAYAGRAJ, Nov. 15 -- The land in the Allahabad West assembly constituency of Prayagraj that was until recently under the illegal possession of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed's aides will now be used for the construction of key government buildings, including offices of the GST department, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and a women's hostel.

District magistrate Manish Kumar Verma has directed SDM (Sadar) Abhishek Kumar Singh to submit proposals based on the land requirements forwarded by various departments.

A total of 38 bighas of land in Mauja Naseerpur, under the Airport police station area, was recently freed from encroachment. Valued at nearly Rs.80 crore, the land had been occupied for years by Atiq's men under the pretex...