In the heart of Lucknow, the community of Akbar Nagar is facing an unprecedented threat. The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) has defied a court order and launched a relentless demolition drive targeting the “illegal” settlements on the banks of Kukrail Nullah. As over 25,000 residents brace for eviction, legal aid has emerged to resist the government’s city beautification plans and to fight for the rights of those who call Akbar Nagar their home. Following which the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court issued a stay order on the demolitions till January 22.

Akbar nagar is situated on the banks of the Kukrail nullah (now Kukrail Nadi) with Ayodhya road cutting it right in the middle. The area is known for its furniture and ply shops which have been in place for the past several decades. Most area residents are either dependent on these shops or work as daily wage workers in the nearby localities.

In 2015, the Gomti Riverfront Project was launched under a grand initiative aimed at transforming Lucknow’s riverbed areas. The project is aimed at beautifying the banks of the river Gomti. Akbar nagar’s people find themselves at the heart of this redevelopment as the LDA has classified it as a riverbed encroachment which immediately needs to be cleared.

According to National Green Tribunal guidelines, no construction is allowed on riverbeds regardless of the ownership. The River Centric Urban Planning guidelines of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs say construction on the river bank can reduce the river’s capacity to carry out floods and that encroachments may lead to overflow and flood damage.

Former secretary Bachchu Lal received this land forty years ago from the Lucknow Development Authority. Named after Akbar Ali Khan, Governor of Uttar Pradesh from 1972–74, Akbarpur was founded by the Homeless Committee in 1973. The LDA also granted land to a few settlers in the Kukrail area in 1983.

Soon after the eviction notice was served, water supply and electricity were cut off from the area. Electricity department personnel removed the electricity meters from the shops on 21 December, right after the initial demolition took place.

A group of petitioners filed a court challenge to an appeal order dated December 15. The appeal was granted under Section 27(2) (Order of Demolition of Building) of the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973. The appeal had upheld the Akbarnagar I and II settlement demolition order, passed on October 13 by the Lucknow Development Authority in accordance with Section 27(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973.

Under the Yogi led BJP government in Uttar Pradesh several demolition drives of this sort have been witnessed by the people of the state, whether in the name of illegal encroachments or as punishment, leaving people homeless. Currently, Akbar Nagar falls on this drive of development.

The state government is often seen using bulldozers to clear off the houses of disprivileged, minoritised and criminalised people in recent years. The bulldozer raj was questioned by the Supreme Court last summer, when it stated that the use of bulldozers to destroy people’s homes was a “wrongful act.”

Standing up for themselves, some locals collectively filed a petition. Claiming possession of Akbar Nagar I&II, the petitioners say that they have been peacefully living in the area for about forty years with no such government interference.

They have pakka houses and even have shops of their own. Had it been illegal they would have not had the permits to do so. In this case, Akbar nagar residents are not criminals. They are people who have lived, earned and wedded on the same land for generations.

“My grandfather came here when he was thirty years old, I am twenty-eight now. My five year old son goes to the madarsa here only. Akbar nagar has been our home ever since. How can we pack everything and leave in a month?” says Shadab, a local resident. He lives in the locality with a family of seven people.

The petitioners state that their houses all have Khasra numbers (unique numbers assigned to a parcel of land in rural and semi-rural areas). They submit house and water taxes. Their houses also have proper electricity meters. Had it been an illegal occupation how would they have Khasra numbers allotted to their houses?

“Our ration card, pan card and aadhar card have our Akbar Nagar address. Our houses have electricity meters, we submit water tax and house tax. Were they not aware that our houses were illegal when we were submitting the bills regularly?” says Shabana who works as a household help and has lived in Akbar Nagar for nearly twenty years. “We’ve been regular when it comes to submitting the bills, hardly anyone steals electricity in this vicinity.”

One of the petitioners stated that the land not only has his house but a furniture shop that he runs in the vicinity. On August 26, he was called upon to justify how he could carry out construction. A reply was submitted by the petitioner against which the demolition order was passed.

According to the order, the subject area was on a green belt, making it impossible to claim adverse possession of it. The petitioners say that the Lucknow Development Authority threatened to issue an eviction order while the appeal against the demolition order was still pending.

On December 8, the high court issued a mandamus to the appellate authority to consider and decide on halting the demolition. The high court’s order further stipulated that no coercive measures could be employed against the petitioners until December 20. The directive was primarily issued with the intention of providing petitioners with a fair chance to challenge any orders that were made against them.

All appeals were dismissed by the appellate body rather than a decision on the stay. The petitioners argued that the appeal order had been made on information that was never given to them and was never delivered. They argued that this went against the fundamentals of justice.

The petitioners say that they were owners of the property before the 1973 law was enacted, hence no proceedings can be initiated against their occupancy of the land. Their houses and shops were established before the act itself.

The vandalised Eram Model School

Additionally, they said that no procedures could be started under Section 27 of the Act, even if proceedings under the 1973 Act were to be started. The respondents’ only option was to use Section 26A of the 1973 Act, which addresses encroachment or blockage on public land. For their part, the respondents asserted that throughout the last forty to fifty years, or after the 1973 law’s enactment, the petitioners have progressively taken over the region.

The high court stated on December 21 that even though the petitioners’ ownership of the land was illegal, they had successfully established it despite their initial inability to show they had any title. Further, the court directed that the demolition of the entire Akbarnagar area be halted until January 22.

The court said, “It appears that the various persons including the petitioners are in occupation of the land without having any title in their favor; with the passage of time, the said persons have continued in possession and in fact, government roads were made and other municipal services are being provided; in most cases, even the municipal taxes are being paid. A school is being run in the vicinity of Akbar Nagar I&II. This fact has not been contradicted by either of the parties and also emerges from the Orders impugned”.

The court accepted the presence of houses and shops in the area, whose owners have little or no knowledge about the illegal occupation. Public roads, a private school and a madarsa school function in the same vicinity. Hence, an eviction notice would not serve the purpose. It could not be expected from the people to move overnight.

Justice Pankaj Bhatia added: “It is unclear as to what is the haste in which huge occupations by the relatively poor class of people are being proposed to be demolished, that to without even waiting for the scheme of relocating the adversely affected persons being implemented in letter and spirit and also exposing the poorest of the poor to the ensuing harsh winters.”

Worry now resides in Akbar Nagar. If one goes down the streets of the area one can find many distressed faces. Concerned about what might come next? Locals are anxious due to the police force employed in the area, especially on the registration desk for the reallocation scheme. Houses and shops have been marked with sizable red paint crosses, indicating the places that need to be demolished. Along with the crumbling trust of people invested in the government.

“I heard the Chief Minister promising on television that he’ll throw out the mafias from the city. We are the ones who are being thrown away now. Are we the mafias?” said Raju, who works as a vegetable vendor in the area and supports a family of four.

According to locals, despite constant efforts the Corporator of Akbar Nagar has been unreachable ever since the eviction notice was served. The only school in the area, namely the Eram Model School, stands shut after police vandalism.

“They’ve shut down the only school in the area. It used to be a center for board examinations. My neighbor’s daughter is in 10th this year, she cannot go to school, leave alone preparing for board examinations.”

The sudden change has also disrupted the life of school children. These children have not attended school ever since the vandalism. With no school to attend and no place to permanently call home, the plight of the children of Akbar Nagar seems tangled.

Proposed reallocation settlement in Chunnu Kheda

After the court mandated the Lucknow Development Authority to give a time of four weeks to the residents of Akbar Nagar to apply for reallocation, a registration desk for the same can be seen on Ayodhya Road.

Big hoardings have been placed in the area with details regarding the reallocation scheme. Under the Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojna, one can secure a house by depositing five thousand rupees with EMI extending for the following ten years. For the daily wage workers of Akbar Nagar this is a tough ask. All they have by themselves are what they earn from the jobs they do nearby and their houses - if displaced they’ll lose both.

With no big savings or assets, local residents find it difficult to afford the government scheme. Most of them are even unhappy with the reallocation offered, which they say is deserted and in the city’s outskirts. The rooms offered are small and cannot accommodate big families. They say their present homes are far better than the settlement. Also the latter reeks of their sweat and blood.

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