Lucknow Fire Tragedy: LDA Orders Demolition of Aliganj Building After 15 Killed in Deadly Blaze

Lucknow: After the massive coaching centre fire in Lucknow's Aliganj area of Uttar Pradesh, that claimed 15 lives a day ago, the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) on Tuesday has issued demolition orders for the building.

What did the LDA order?

The LDA on Tuesday has issued a demolition notice for the Aliganj building where a massive fire claimed 15 lives a day ago. The property owners have been directed to demolish the structure themselves, failing which the LDA will carry out the demolition.

The order was issued by LDA a day after a major fire broke out at the building that claimed 15 lives and left several others injured and also triggered outrage over alleged safety violations and illegal construction.

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Authority (LDA) had issued a demolition notice for the building due to illegal construction, but this notice was withdrawn after about two months. Now questions are being raised as to under whose pressure this notice was withdrawn.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.