LUCKNOW: The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh government and the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) to clarify the rights of all parties involved in an unauthorized building construction case or present a demolition plan for the structure by the next hearing on March 25.
The Lucknow bench of the court observed that the building in Husainganj area had been constructed far beyond the approved plan and held landowners, developers, and LDA officials responsible for the violations. It also sought action against officials whose inaction led to unauthorized construction.
The order was passed by the bench of justices AR Masoodi and Manish Kumar on the public interest litigation filed in 2012 by Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Ashok Kumar.
In compliance with the previous order of the court, LDA submitted a report about Clay Square and the buildings around it, on which the court found that not only Clay Square located on Kabir Marg in Husainganj but also about nine other buildings around it have been built by flouting the rules and contrary to the map.
The court found that Clay Square has been constructed about four times more than the construction for which the map was approved and LDA also did not take any action.
The bench said it is not possible to separate the said illegal construction from legal construction.
In such a situation, the court has not only decided to fix the financial responsibility of the land owners and the developers but has also decided to take action against those LDA officers who did not perform their responsibilities and allowed illegal construction to take place.
“The courts in such a situation are not left with any workable guidance except to strike a note of caution and set an example to discourage the offensive trend. The duties which the public servants owe to the State necessitates an action against them for causing financial loss to the State as well as the environment,” observed the bench.
