Allahabad HC frowns at Lucknow Development Authority, municipal body for delay in demolishing illegal constructions

Lucknow: The Allahabad High Court has expressed serious displeasure on the delay by Lucknow Development Authority and Lucknow Municipal Corporation in demolishing illegal constructions, which were declared unauthorised decades ago and orders also passed for their demolition.

The Lucknow bench of the court termed the situation as "unpleasant" and said it may have worsened by time.

Considering the issue in larger public interest, the bench observed, "The state government, in these circumstances, is bound to evolve an effective mechanism so as to serve the object of planned development in order to achieve healthy standards of living in the urban areas."

A bench of justices AR Masoodi and Subhash Vidyarthi directed the Principal Secretary of Department of Housing and Urban Planning to file his personal affidavit bringing on record the measures which the state government would propose to initiate for dealing with the unauthorised constructions relating to which orders have already been passed.

Hearing the PIL filed by Lt. Col. Ashok Kumar (Retd.) in 2012, the bench directed the principal secretary's personal affidavit must also explain as to how such large scale constructions have been raised and the development authorities could not notice them.

The bench also asked the principal secretary to apprise it the measures to curtail any further violations so as to avoid conversion of residential areas into multi-storeyed or commercial areas without sanction of development plans.

The bench fixed February 10 for next hearing in the matter and cautioned the principal secretary that he would have to appear in persons along-with relevant records, if his personal affidavit is not filed by then.

Earlier, the bench said, "Planning of urban areas is the primary responsibility of the state through its developmental and local bodies within whose jurisdiction the areas are notified. Regulation of complete construction plans, drainage and roads are the basic amenities and the local authorities are duty bound to regulate the same for optimum public good."

"Any slackness on the part of the development authorities/local authorities to maintain effective check and vigilance against the unauthorised constructions or encroachments cannot be left unnoticed or overlooked by this court in appropriate proceedings as is the case at hand," the bench observed.

The bench was seriously concerned as a list of unauthorized constructions was placed on record before it regarding which demolition orders had already been passed way back in 2012 but no explanation was given as to why the said demolition orders were not carried out.