The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has stayed the proposal of former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav to construct a heritage hotel at Vikramaditya Marg, a high-security zone, as reported by LiveLaw.in.
After trashing his government accommodation and stripping it off fixtures and moving into a villa of his own, Samajwadi Party chief and former UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav had planned to build a heritage hotel in the heart of Lucknow. According to reports published in July this year, the former UP CM, along with his wife MP Dimple Yadav, has submitted an application to the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) to build a heritage hotel on a prime piece of land in Vikramaditya Marg.
A Bench comprising of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Abdul Moin passed the order while hearing a PIL filed by local lawyer Shishir Chaturvedi. The Court went on further to take note of newspaper reports claiming that “illegal construction activities” are being carried out in the VVIP areas. It noted that such activities were being undertaken without appropriate sanctions from the State and the Lucknow Development Authority, to set up party offices.
The Court has observed that allowing such construction will compromise the region’s security. The order further read, “This V.I.P. Zone caters to the residences of Chief Minister, the Chief Secretary, the Chairman, Board of Revenue, Judges of the High Court, Cabinet Ministers, Ministers and very Senior I.A.S. Officers. If such activities are permitted in this V.I.P Zone apparently it cannot be said that it would be safe and secure nor would the life of the residents of the area be peaceful.”
The Court has asked the state and civic bodies to provide evidence for the alleged construction and has stayed the same till next hearing takes place on 5th September.