The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) on Saturday demolished the illegal Aliganj commercial complex where a fire claimed 15 lives last month. The LDA took over the operation after the owners failed to fully raze the unauthorised structure despite being given 15 days.
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The demolition of the three-storey building at plot number MS-102 began Saturday morning, supervised by two heavy earthmovers and three zonal officers. Police personnel were deployed and traffic around the site was diverted to ensure the demolition was carried out safely.
As a precaution, officials evacuated residents from houses adjoining the commercial complex before the demolition began to prevent damage to nearby properties or risk to lives.
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LDA secretary Vivek Srivastava had said the authority issued a notice under Section 27(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act on June 23, directing the owners to produce documents establishing the legality of the construction. The designated LDA court heard the matter on July 7 and permitted them to file objections, which were submitted the following day.
After examining the objections and the enforcement wing’s report, the authority declared the commercial construction illegal on July 10 and ordered its demolition.
The owners were given 15 days to remove the unauthorised structure. They began demolishing the building on July 20 but failed to complete the exercise within the July 25 deadline.
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Following the lapse of the deadline, the LDA took over the operation on Saturday and deployed heavy machinery to raze the remaining structure. The authority stated that the demolition expenses will be recovered from the owners.
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According to LDA records, the 1,992-square-foot plot was sanctioned for residential use. Brothers Virendra Pratap Shukla and Surendra Pratap Shukla purchased the property in 2013, following which the authority approved a residential building plan under the auto-map scheme in 2014.
The LDA, however, found that the owners had converted the property into a commercial complex, violating the sanctioned land use and prompting enforcement proceedings.
