LUCKNOW, March 7 -- The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) on Friday began demolishing illegal portions of a commercial building -the entire sixth floor and part of the fifth floor - in the Vibhuti Khand area, officials said, citing violation of building norms. LDA officials reached the site in the morning with a team of workers and heavy police deployment. Workers used hand-operated machines to demolish the illegal portions. According to LDA officials, the building had been under scrutiny since its construction. LDA zonal officer Devansh Trivedi said that the portions were constructed illegally and could not be regularised under existing compounding rules. "Following orders, we initiated the demolition drive against the illegal construction," he said. He said the demolition has been halted on the orders of LDA vice chairman Prathamesh Kumar. He added the VC has given strict orders to get the procedural compounding fees deposited before March 16. Officials said the authority had earlier issued notices to the building owner but the violations continued, prompting the authority to take action after court intervention. htc...