LDA orders demolition of illegal portions of Lucknow building where died 15 in fire

Lucknow, Jul 10 (PTI) The designated authority of the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) on Friday ordered the demolition of portions of an alleged illegal commercial building in Aliganj, where a devastating fire last month claimed 15 lives, officials said. The order was issued under Section 27(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973, against building owners Virendra Shukla, Surendra Shukla and others in connection with Plot No. 102, Sector D, Zone-4, Aliganj. An LDA official told PTI that the owners have been directed to remove the unauthorised construction within 15 days, failing which the authority will carry out the demolition and recover the cost from them as arrears of land revenue. The demolition order, issued by the competent authority, Atul Kumar, has also been pasted on the building. It states that "the owners were given adequate opportunity to explain why the unauthorised construction should not be demolished, but failed to provide sufficient grounds against the proposed action." The official said the proceedings before the LDA's designated authority have now concluded. According to the official, the hearing established that although the building had been sanctioned as a residential structure with approval for a basement and two floors, it was being operated as a commercial establishment in violation of the sanctioned plan. The upper floor had allegedly been constructed without approval and was being used illegally. The inquiry also found violations relating to construction norms and mandatory setback requirements. The official further said the LDA's internal inquiry has identified several officials and engineers whose roles in the matter are under scrutiny, and the report has been sent to the state government for appropriate action. The authority has also provided, and continues to provide, all information sought by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the incident. The demolition order follows the designated authority reserving its verdict on Thursday after hearing final arguments from the building owners' counsel for around one-and-a-half hours. During the hearing, the arguments centred on the allegation that the building, approved only for residential use, had been illegally converted into a multi-storey commercial complex in violation of building regulations. Officials had also pointed out that the building allegedly lacked mandatory fire safety measures and had only a single access route to the upper floor, where an animation centre employing several people was operating. The demolition proceedings began on June 23, a day after the fire, when the LDA issued a notice citing violations of building bylaws. On June 23, LDA Vice-Chairman Prathamesh Kumar had told PTI that the authority had initiated demolition proceedings after finding violations of construction norms and had also ordered an inquiry into the role of officials responsible for monitoring the building. He had said the process of identifying officers responsible for the lapses had begun. The first hearing in the case was held earlier this week, when the building owners sought more time to respond to the notice. The designated authority allowed only a day's adjournment. On the following day, the owners sought either regularisation of the building under the new building bylaws or additional time for detailed arguments, but the request was declined, and the matter was fixed for final hearing. Police have arrested four people in the criminal case -- building owner Virendra Prasad Shukla (62), Ram Krishna Upadhyay (43), animation centre operator Tushar Krishna Jaiswal (31) and Suresh Kumar Sahoo (41). Upadhyay, Jaiswal and Sahoo have been remanded in judicial custody, while Shukla was not produced before the court. The Uttar Pradesh government has also suspended four officials from the electricity department, fire department and the LDA in connection with the incident. PTI KIS KSI KSI