Lucknow, 19 June: More than 1,200 unlawful houses in Uttar Pradesh’s Akbar Nagar (a neighborhood in Lucknow) have been razed as part of the Kukrail river beautification and regeneration project. The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) initiated a demolition effort on June 10. The effort was begun in response to a court order to demolish 1,068 unlawful residential and 101 commercial structures in Akbarnagar I and II. The eviction effort is scheduled to end in a few days.
Last year, the LDA petitioned the Allahabad High Court to maintain the cleanliness of the Kukrail water channel, claiming unlawful development on the riverbed and banks. The administration informed the court that slum residents had illegally occupied the banks of the Kukrail water channel for an extended length of time.
According to the report, all slum drains holding waste (such as feces) were discharged into the Kukrail water channel, which runs into the Gomti River. As a result, about 1158 structures raised by petitioners had to be dismantled. The LDA devised a rehabilitation policy to rehabilitate slum dwellers, under which all BPL (below poverty line) individuals were offered appropriate flats designed for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) upon presentation of their ration card or other appropriate documents proving their BPL status. The eviction effort is scheduled to end in a few days.
Last year, the LDA petitioned the Allahabad High Court to maintain the cleanliness of the Kukrail water channel, claiming unlawful development on the riverbed and banks.
The administration informed the court that slum residents had illegally occupied the banks of the Kukrail water channel for an extended length of time. According to the report, all of the slum’s drains, which included waste (such as feces), were discharged into the Kukrail water channel, which feeds into the Gomti River. Thus, about 1158 structures raised by the petitioners had to be eliminated.
To rehabilitate slum dwellers, the LDA devised a rehabilitation policy in which all BPL (below poverty line) individuals were offered appropriate flats designed for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) upon presentation of their ration card or other appropriate documents proving their BPL status.
Later, on March 6, the Allahabad High Court granted the inhabitants of Lucknow’s Akbar Nagar 1 and 2 sectors until March 31 to remove the disputed properties. The court then allowed the LDA to evacuate the area.
On May 10, the Supreme Court upheld the High Court’s judgment on the demolition campaign, clarifying that no slum inhabitant should be expelled without being provided with alternative lodging. Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta affirmed the Allahabad High Court’s findings. On June 14, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed officials to clear encroachments along river and pond banks as soon as possible.
There are encroachments on the Ramganga River’s banks at Moradabad. A similar scenario exists in Kashi, Saharanpur, and other districts, according to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), which quoted Adityanath in a post on X. Efforts are being underway to revive Lucknow’s Kukrail River. Illegal colonies have been dismantled, and its occupants have been rehabilitated elsewhere. Similarly, work should be done in other districts based on local needs, he stated.
The Chief Minister directed the bureaucrats to guarantee that there were no settlements in the river basin.
