LUCKNOW, June 19 -- The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) is planning to reclaim land from a privately developed colony in Kaliya Kheda village for its new Anant Nagar housing project on Mohaan road. However, residents from approximately 35 homes are standing their ground, saying they have been living here for a decade. LDA officials claimed that the privately developed colony has been built on land earmarked for the new housing project and said they plan to vacate the area and provide compensation to the residents. The residents are refusing to move, claiming they have documents to prove their ownership. "We have legal documents that show our possession on the land isn't illegal. How can they remove us," asked Santosh Kumar Sharma, a resident of Kaliya Kheda. The residents claimed that the matter is sub judice and any forced eviction would be a violation of their rights. During HT's visit to the area on Wednesday, it was found that the private colony has around 35 houses along with several vacant plots on the said land. The LDA had on June 13 allotted 334 plots to allottees through its lottery in the first phase of its scheme. "We will ensure proper compensation is given. The colony will be vacated as per legal procedures," said an LDA official. "We have been living here for over 10 years. We bought our land legally and constructed our homes, and in the entire process, none of the government officials came to stop us. Now, LDA is asking us to vacate. If we leave, where will we go" lamented Sharma. "Four to five months ago, we approached the Lucknow high court and got a stay on LDA's action. We are not encroachers, we have documents and have been paying taxes," he added. Abhishek Yadav, another resident, said the residents are willing to cooperate if the issue is resolved amicably. "We are ready to pay development charges for road connectivity, sewer lines and streetlights, if LDA regularises our colony in their scheme. Many people residing in the colony are from outside the village and some of us from the village; we bought these plots and built homes here," he added. LDA vice-chairman Prathamesh Kumar said the residents of the private colony will have to leave the place, else the authority will seek legal action as the area is acquired by the authority and is mentioned in the Anant Nagar housing scheme layout. Officials, however, admitted that the issue partly arose from within the LDA itself. A senior LDA officer revealed that the land acquisition department failed to act in time when the private development began. "The problem lies at both ends. When the colony was being developed, our officials should have intervened. Action should have been taken against the developer then," the official said. He added that all these structures are illegal and the layout of the scheme also mentions this portion while the land has been acquired by the authority. The Anant Nagar scheme was launched with the promise of modern infrastructure. As per an LDA statement published in HT on February 28, about 80% of the infrastructure, including roads, drainage, sewage and parks was reportedly completed. However, during Wednesday's site inspection, it was found that the road leading into Kaliya Kheda is still incomplete, and several stretches remain in poor condition. An activist, familiar with land disputes involving LDA, said the situation is not unique. "In several schemes across Lucknow, LDA failed to take possession of land before launching projects. Later, land is still with the people which has been sold by the LDA to other allottees and after that they are returning the money, resulting in court cases and delays in allotments. Many genuine allottees are still waiting for possession years later. Such mistakes should not be repeated in this scheme," he said. The LDA, however, has warned that unauthorised structures will be dealt with strictly. "It's a serious lapse that these structures have been constructed. If we take possession, we will assess compensation only for legal constructions, as per existing norms," a senior official said. The authority now faces a complex task: balancing the rights of long-settled residents with the goals of urban planning. Residents are hoping for a negotiated resolution that allows them to remain, while the LDA is under pressure to move forward with the scheme's full implementation....