Amidst the labyrinthine corridors of the Allahabad High Court’s Lucknow bench, a judicial intermission unfolded on Wednesday, halting the imminent obliteration in Akbar Nagar until the eve of March’s closure. This respite grants denizens the liberty to translocate their possessions within this temporal span. Post this grace period, the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) shall be unbridled to dismantle the abodes nestled in the precincts of the slum.
Concurrently, the judicial edict mandates a revision of the registration toll for PM Awas, slashing it from ₹5000 to a mere ₹1000, as ordained by the high court.
In the eventuality that indigent denizens of Akbar Nagar encounter impediments in securing alternative lodgings, they are at liberty to petition the chief minister for succor, elucidated the court.
The pronouncement emanated from a division bench, presided over by Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Om Prakash Shukla, as they rendered judgment in open court on Wednesday.
“Every inhabitant dwelling in the realms of Akbar Nagar 1 and 2 shall evacuate the contentious precincts no later than the stroke of midnight on March 31. Post this temporal threshold, the respondent authorities shall be authorized to efface the aforementioned locale,” decreed the court.
The high court had hitherto held its decision in abeyance, culminating the auditory proceedings on February 26.
A contingent of 74 BPL cardholders from Akbar Nagar had instituted a writ petition, beseeching the high court to interpose in the demolition endeavors of the development authority within Akbar Nagar. The impetus for this operation was the unlawful erection of the slum on government-owned terrain, comprising approximately 1400 dwellings.
“We discern a measure of cogency in the petitioners’ contentions. Consequently, it is mandated that any individual seeking rehabilitation from the Akbar Nagar slums, upon application for EWS accommodation, shall be accorded such lodgings,” declared the court.
“Moreover, we recognize that those applying for the EWS flats may confront fiscal constraints. Therefore, we decree that EWS flats shall be made available with an initial registration deposit of ₹1000, diverging from the erstwhile ₹5000,” the court appended.
Additionally, should circumstances compel EWS accommodation applicants to falter in fulfilling their installments within the stipulated decade, the respondent authorities (LDA) are directed to extend the period by a maximum of five years.
“In the eventuality that an EWS allottee encounters insurmountable challenges in meeting said installments, such an individual is entitled to submit an appropriate application before the chief minister of the state. The chief minister shall duly scrutinize and bestow fitting relief from the chief minister’s beneficiary fund or any other pertinent funds or schemes earmarked for the welfare of the underprivileged, as per prevailing norms,” articulated the court.
The purview of the rehabilitation scheme was also broadened to encompass other denizens of Akbar Nagar who abstained from seeking redress from the court.
Petitioners and similarly situated individuals are instructed to file applications under the rehabilitation scheme within a fortnight from today (March 6). Concurrently, the LDA is slated to commence allotting flats for rehabilitation, with the entire relocation process slated for completion by March 31.