Lucknow Fire Tragedy: Building Had Demolition Order For Illegal Construction, Revoked Just 2 Months Later

Lucknow: The three-storey building, where a tragic fire killed about 15 people on Monday, was issued a demolition order in 2016 over unauthorised construction, which was later revoked in less than two months.

What was the reason of fire?

The biggest reason for the fire in this three-story building appears to be administrative negligence. Ten years ago, the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) had issued a demolition notice for the building due to illegal construction, but this notice was withdrawn after about two months. Now questions are being raised as to under whose pressure this notice was withdrawn.

Was commercial building built on residential land?

According to a reports, the vacant plot of land for this building was originally approved for residential construction under a self-certification building plan on August 20, 2014. However, the landowners had the building constructed as a commercial building, which the LDA administration had identified at that time and filed a case against Virendra Pratap Shukla.

Following an investigation, the demolition order was issued on May 10, 2016. Subsequently, the LDA withdrew its notice on July 5, 2016. Questions are now being raised about the circumstances and reasons behind the withdrawal of the notice.

Who is the owner of the property?

The Uttar Pradesh government in a statement said that, the building was originally allotted to Vijay Kumar, who is the son of Rameshwar Sahay, on July 11, 1980, under a hire-purchase scheme through a lottery system, according to reports.

In 2005, the property was registered in the names of Vijay Kumar and his wife Usha through a sale deed. The couple later sold the property to Virendra Pratap Shukla and Surendra Pratap Shukla on January 19, 2013. The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) completed the mutation in favour of Virendra and Surendra on August 7, 2014.

What did the government say?

After this incident, the government has swung into action and the investigation has been handed over to a Special Investigation Team (SIT), which will submit its report within seven days. Meanwhile, on the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, four officers have been suspended, while the police have also arrested four people in connection with the case.

According to reports, single-storey residential construction was permitted here, but a basement was dug out and a multi-storey building was built. The LDA took action against this and issued a notice in 2016. Even after this notice, the plan was not cancelled. The affidavit submitted for the construction of the building presented a residential building plan. However, instead of constructing a single-storey residential unit, an illegal complex was constructed. Residential plan standards were ignored. Without taking into account the setback, the entire covered area was covered by a basement and three floors.

What were construction rules?

According to the rules in effect at the time this building was constructed, only 65 per cent of a plot of land less than 2,000 square meters could be used for construction, with the remaining 35 per cent setback space reserved for fire services and other uses. However, this site achieved 100 per cent coverage.

In a single unit, a basement should be built only on 40 per cent of the area, leaving a two-meter setback on the front, sides, and sides. However, the basement coverage area here exceeds 90 percent. It's worth noting that permission for a basement requires NOCs from various departments, including mining, but the LDA has no such NOC on record.

The maximum height of a single unit should not exceed 15 metres without stealth parking and 17.5 metres with stealth, but in this building the height is more than 19 metres without stealth parking.