Lucknow-Akbarnagar Demolitions | 'Provide EWS Accommodation To All Slum Dwellers, Shift Them By March 31': Allahabad HC To UP Govt

In a significant relief for the slum dwellers of the Akbarnagar area of the Lucknow District, the Allahabad High Court has directed the State Government to ensure that all persons being rehabilitated from Akbar Nagar slums and applying for EWS accommodation, be provided such an accommodation and the entire process of shifting be completed by March 31st.

Noting that those applying for EWS accommodation may face some financial constraints, a bench of Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Om Prakash Shukla reduced the initial registration deposit from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 1,000.

The Court further directed the authorities to extend the payment period for instalments beyond the initial 10-year timeframe by up to an additional five years for individuals encountering difficulties in meeting payment obligations within the designated period due to unavoidable circumstances.

"The applications under the rehabilitation scheme shall be filed by the petitioners (slum dwellers) and other similarly situated persons within a period of two weeks from today and simultaneously, the respondents shall proceed to make allotment of flats for rehabilitation and the entire process of shifting be completed positively by 31.3.2024...All the residents of Akbar Nagar 1 and 2 shall vacate the disputed premises on or before the mid night of 31.3.2024 and thereafter, it shall be open for the respondent-authorities to clear the said area," the Court further directed.

The order was passed by the division bench while dealing with a total of 75 writ petitions filed by slum-dwellers of Akbar Nagar-1 and 2 (in Lucknow) challenging the demolition orders issued by the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) and for quashing the rehabilitation scheme framed by the LDA.

The case in brief

The demolition orders passed by the LDA cited illegal construction on Kukrail's riverbed and banks as the basis for the demolitions. It may be noted that the Kukrail riverbed merges with River Gomti, which supplies drinking water to nearly the entire of Lucknow. Recently, as many as 78 houses were razed by the LDA to pave the way for the ambitious Kukrail riverfront development project as well as to clean the Kukrail riverbed.

It is the case of the LDA that the slum dwellers, over a long period of time, unauthorizedly occupied the banks of the Kukrail water channel, raised disputed constructions and converted the riverbed into an urban open sewer.

It was also contended that all the drains of this slum, containing all its waste including faecal matter, are let loose in this Kukrail water channel, which flows to river Gomti, the main supply source of drinking water to the people of Lucknow.

Before the Court, the respondents submitted that since the fundamental right of a large number of residents of Lucknow to have access to clean drinking water is involved in this case, and hence, it is incumbent that the Kukrail water channel be kept clean, and thus, around 1158 constructions raised by the petitioners are required to be removed.

However, for the rehabilitation of the slum dwellers, the LDA came up with a rehabilitation policy under which all the BPL persons were offered appropriate flats made for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) on the production of their ration card or other appropriate documents, proving that they belong to BPL category.

High Court's observation

Taking into account the facts and circumstances under which the unauthorised construction was sought to be removed by the LDA, the Court, at the outset, stressed that both, the right to have a proper shelter overhead and the right to neat and clean drinking water, are held by the Supreme Court as fundamental rights covered by Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

The Court added in the instant case, the fundamental right of a large number of petitioners for a habitable living place was in contest with the fundamental right of a larger number of residents of Lucknow to get clean drinking water, including the petitioners. It was further emphasized that the right to clean drinking water for the present and future generations of Lucknow has to be protected vis-a-vis the claims of the petitioners, who are admittedly unauthorized occupants of government land.

"The Courts have repeatedly emphasized and upheld the necessity of clean environment including clean water. It is regarded as our duty towards future generations to come. No individual or group of persons can be permitted to violate the same. The NGT has duly noted the same and emphasized for action. The right of clean drinking water of the present and future generations of Lucknow, therefore, has to be protected. On the other hand, petitioners before this Court are unauthorized occupants of government land, without any right on the same. At best, all they can claim is an alternative place to live," the Court noted.

However, the Court did observe that it was equally important to settle the rights of the slum dwellers and for that purpose, the Court noted, that a rehabilitation policy was already in place under which, the flats with a market value of Rs.15 lacs were being provided under 'Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana' at the cost of Rs.4.18 lacs only to the petitioners.

In the said policy, on a registration fee of Rs.5,000, possession of the flats would be provided and the remaining amount has to be paid in equal monthly instalments within a period of ten years making it possible for a person to pay only Rs.4,000 per month for the said flat.

However, to make things easier for the petitioners, the Court further provided that any person being rehabilitated from Akbar Nagar slums applying for EWS accommodation be provided such accommodation on an initial registration deposit of Rs.1,000 only (instead of Rs.5,000) and the benefit of the rehabilitation scheme be extended to other residents of Akbar Nagar who have not approached the Court

With this, the Court disposed of the plea by directing all the residents of Akbar Nagar 1 and 2 to vacate the disputed premises on or before midnight of March 31.

Case title - Raju Sahu And Others vs. State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Deptt. Urban along with connected matters 2024 LiveLaw (AB) 141

Case Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (AB) 141

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