Illegal construction inside Aminabad park razed
The construction was carried out in around 20,000 sq feet area inside the Aminabad Ghantaghar Park
‘THE BUILDER WAS GIVEN AMPLE TIME TO PRODUCE PAPERS AND PRESENT HIS POINT OF VIEW BUT HE FAILED TO DO SO’
LUCKNOW : A team of Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) on Thursday razed the illegal construction being carried out in around 20,000 square feet area inside the historical Aminabad Ghantaghar Park here allegedly by builder Ashok Pathak.
“The construction inside the park was illegal and against the Supreme Court directives. The LDA also didn’t approve the map of the building and the builder had no ownership papers. The builder was given ample time to produce papers and present his point of view but he failed to do so,” said Lucknow municipal commissioner Ajay Kumar Dwivedi.
Earlier, Dwivedi himself went to the site where he found around 20 shops being constructed. “The aim is to return the park to its original shape. According to the Supreme Court ruling, any sort of construction inside parks is not allowed. Parks are the lifeline of the area and you can well imagine the importance of parks in an area like Aminabad,” the municipal commissioner added.
Zonal officer, zone I, Rajesh Kumar Singh said, “The demolition drive started at 7am but goons of the builder objected to it and even threatened us. Following it, two companies of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) and a police force of Aminabad police station arrived. Then, we started the demolition drive which continued till 3:30 pm with the help of around 80 LMC workers and three bulldozers.”After the complaint by former corporator Vinod Singhal and sitting corporator Sunita Singhal, municipal commissioner Ajay Kumar Dwivedi initiated action against builder Ashok Pathak. He sought a detailed report of the construction going on inside Ghantaghar park.
Following it, LMC officials contacted LDA officials to find out whether they had allowed any sort of construction inside the park or not. Later, LDA also served a notice to the builder and asked him to explain his point on April 7. The builder failed to produce papers in his favour on that day after which demolition orders were given.
On April 29, the builder also visited Vinod Singhal’s house where he allegedly tried to threaten Singhal’s family in his absence. Singhal, in turn, filed an FIR against Pathak the same day.