Lucknow: Lazeez Gali plan goes cold, LDA seals site over dues

The LDA had proposed setting up 15-20 temporary kiosks at Lazeez Gali to provide food and vending options for visitors to the old city area. The tender carried an annual cost of ₹33 lakh for five years.

A food hub planned to add to Old Lucknow’s visitor attractions has ended up behind sealed doors, with the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) cancelling the private vendor’s contract over unpaid dues more than two years after the project was proposed. The vendor, however, claimed he invested crores of rupees in developing the site and questioned the authority’s decision.

The LDA sealed the premises because the vendor had failed to clear outstanding dues. (Deepak Gupta/HT)

The LDA had proposed setting up 15-20 temporary kiosks at Lazeez Gali to provide food and vending options for visitors to the old city area. The tender carried an annual cost of ₹33 lakh for five years.

However, the project never became operational. The authority has now cancelled the contract and sealed the premises over the vendor’s alleged failure to clear outstanding dues and commence operations.

In a video circulating on social media, the vendor alleged that the LDA had floated the tender for the wrong location. He claimed that the Hussainabad Trust had allotted the land to the authority for a park and questioned the decision to cancel his contract.

The vendor further alleged that the LDA had not given him any reason for the cancellation. Claiming that he had repeatedly visited the authority until March 2025, he said he had invested crores of rupees in setting up shops and improving the area.

LDA vice-chairman Prathamesh Kumar said the authority sealed the premises because the vendor had failed to clear outstanding dues. LDA officials said the tender was cancelled after the vendor failed to start operations.

The dispute has also raised questions about the proposed commercial use of the site and the circumstances surrounding the land allotment. The Hussainabad Trust’s position on the allotment and the proposed commercial activity remains unclear.

HT attempted to contact the concerned Hussainabad Trust officials multiple times, but they remained unavailable for comment.