Project Cost Gone Up Form 25 Crore To 950 Crore: PIL In Allahabad High Court Against Delay In Completing Lucknow's Convention Centre JPNIC

A public interest litigation has been filed in the Allahabad High Court seeking completion of the Jaiprakash Narayan International Center in Lucknow within a time bound manner and to make it operational for public use.

Petitioner, a journalist, alleged that due to impropriety and illegal actions of certain officials, the state exchequer has suffered huge loss.

In 2006, the then State Government decided to establish a cultural centre in Lucknow like India Habitat Centre, Delhi under the name of Jaiprakash Narayan International Center. This was done to commemorate Late Jai Prakash Narayan, crusader of people’s rights. The project sought to enhance Lucknow's urban fabric and aimed at creating a structure that would serve to give the city a distinctive identity by flowering the park's greenery on the building and fusing the building with the Ram Manohar Lohia Park. The total cost of project, at that point of time, was approximately 25 crores.

Petitioner contended that the Allahabad High Court had earlier ‘actively heard and decided’ the Public Interest Litigation (Ashok Yadav Dev vs. State of U. P. and others), challenging the delay in the implementation of the project in 2011. State was directed to complete the project by 31.08.2012.

Thereafter, several cost revisions were made which made the cost of the project go from 25 crores to approximately 865 crores, submitted the Petitioner.

Further, Petitioner brought on record photos of the JPNIC to show its dilapidated condition as the construction work has been stalled from 2017. Due to stoppage of work for 6 years, the furniture, materials and peripherals installed in parts of the project have started decaying, it is averred. Thus, a huge loss has already been caused to the public exchequer besides resulting in multifold increase in costs which has to be determined and re-worked, again a serious concern causing further dent to public exchequer, argued the Petitioner.

Through RTI, it was shown to the Court that the cost of the project is now 950 crores. Petitioner alleged that the project has been constantly delayed without any rhyme and reason.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Pritinker Diwaker and Justice Rajan Roy has directed the State and the Development Authority to file their respective counter affidavits. The matter is directed to be listed after four weeks.

Case Title: Sanjay Sharma v. State of U.P. and Others [PIL No. 728/2023]

Counsel for Petitioner: Abhinav Sinha

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