Sahara Sahar issue: Sahara Group moves to SC

{image-subroto roy-Saharacity234_24062008.jpg news.oneindia.in}Lucknow, Jun 24: On Tuesday, June 24, Managing Worker and Chairman of Sahara India Pariwar Subrata Roy filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Lucknow Development Authority for carrying out demolition activities last evening in Sahara Sahar in defiance of the court's orders. A bench headed by Justice Altamas Kabir decided to hear the matter on Wednesday, June 25.

The Supreme Court had on Monday, June 23 ordered the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) not to demolish the Sahara Group's commercial property in Lucknow, which is known as 'Sahara Sahar' (Sahara City). The LDA had on June 20 moved the Supreme Court saying that the Sahara India Commercial Corporation Limited (SICCL) had flouted the mandatory provisions of the UP Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973 and raised unauthorised constructions over carved zonal roads without its permission.

The state government had appealed to the Supreme Court after the Allahabad High Court rebuked the LDA for demolishing the outer walls, the auditorium and the watchtower of Sahara Sahar without prior notice and also had asked the government to restore possession of the land to the company, after the Sahara Group knocked at its doors.

The State Government in its petition also said the illegal acts of the company deprived the common people from free access to the area. The Special Leave Petition filed through advocate G Venkateswara Rao further alleged that Sahara had approached the Allahabad High Court "concealing vital facts so as to succeed in its evil design of grabbing public property."

The State government said the company on June 13 had agreed to remove certain encroachments on both zonal roads, which are a part of the Master Plan 2021. The government also said that the Sahara Group had itself demolished the encroachments after 10.30 pm on June 17 by using its own people and machinery.

The LDA officials said it had leased 130 acres of land to the company for residential and commercial purposes in October 1994 and 140 acres for the green belt in 1995.

ANI