Chief minister Akhilesh Yadav would lay the foundation of the Janeshwar Mishra Park in Gomti Nagar on February 15. Spread over 376 acres, the sprawling park would be developed at a cost of around Rs200 crore. The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) has already floated tenders for the project layout, which has been designed by the New Delhi based prestigious School of Planning and Architecture (SPA).

Soon after the Samajwadi Party came to power in March 2012, party president Mulayam Singh Yadav had made an announcement that a grand park would be developed in memory of Janeshwar Misra, popularly known as “Chote Lohia”. The foundation stone of the park was to be laid by the CM on his birth anniversary on August 6, last year. But the ceremony was called off at the last moment due to a court case challenging acquisition of 136 acres in the region and saplings planted in the area during BSP regime, which had termed the area “Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar Harit Vihar.”

In fact, the BSP leaders had opposed the SP government’s move to rename the park and even staged a demonstration at the main gate of the park last year but the agitation fizzled out after they could not produce any official records to prove their claim.

Nonetheless, the authorities are treading with caution to ensure that no damage is caused to the region’s flora and fauna.