LDA issues demolition notice to Levana Suites

Team probing the Sept 5 fire incident found that the map of the hotel was not passed and it was operating illegally without converting the land use to commercial

LUCKNOW The LDA court (non-judicial) issued a notice to the owners of Levana Suites on charges of illegal construction, asking them to raze the hotel building at Madan Mohan Malviya Marg themselves by December 9, failing which the development authority would do the needful and realise the cost from the owners.

The September 5 fire incident at the hotel had claimed four lives. (File Photo)

On September 9, the high court had taken suo motu cognizance of the September 5 fire incident at the hotel that claimed four lives. As many as 19 people were also injured after a massive blaze on the third floor of the hotel, where nearly 30 people were present at the time of the accident.

A division bench of Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Saurabh Srivastava directed the LDA, the fire department and the state government to file proper replies about the steps taken to prevent fire incidents in commercial establishments.

The team probing the incident found that the map of the hotel was not passed and it was operating illegally without converting the land use to commercial. Family members of the four deceased - Gurnoor Anand, Sahiba Kaur, Bobby alias Aman Ghazi and Sarvika Singh - had demanded action against the hotel owner.

LDA vice-chairman Indramani Tripathi said, “If a building is constructed without the map, the development authority has the right to send a demolition notice to the building owner. If there is no response to the notice, the authority can demolish the property.”

However, Sumer Agarwal, one of the owners of Levana Suits, stated, “We have submitted all papers related to the hotel to the LDA court. The map is approved with an LDA stamp on it.”

ACTION AGAINST YAZDAN BUILDING

Meanwhile, LDA started the process of demolition of illegally constructed seven-storey Yazdan building on Prag Narain Road. A special team from Mumbai was called to raze the structure. LDA officials said it would take time around a month to demolish the building. However, Yazdan builders approached the court, seeking a stay on the demolition. The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.