Illegal slum settlements have spread across multiple zones of the state capital, significantly increasing fire hazards. The recent Vikas Nagar blaze is a case in point.
Encroachments have come up on abandoned private plots, parks, and along major drains across areas such as Guddamba, Faizullaganj, Amrapali, Ballu Adda, and Rajajipuram, Gomti Nagar extension, Vibhuti Khand and others.
Despite being located along main roads, these settlements continue to exist due to the inaction of the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) and other agencies. Corporators say that unsafe cooking practices and illegal electricity connections in these slums make them highly vulnerable to fire incidents, especially during summer.
A visit by Hindustan Times to one such slum cluster near the Haider Canal sewage treatment plant (STP) close to Ballu Adda and 1090 intersection revealed the extent of the problem. Around 100 temporary huts have been set up on both sides of the road. On one side, Assamese migrant workers engaged in sanitation and daily wage jobs reside, while on the other, people from various districts of Uttar Pradesh have built makeshift homes.
Most residents survive on daily wages, working as e-rickshaw drivers, domestic helpers, sanitation workers, or running small roadside shops. Despite living here for years, they lack access to basic civic amenities. They arrange electricity and water on their own, often through illegal means.
Dayaram, a 70-year-old resident from Gonda who has been living in the slum for nearly a decade, said he runs a small shop to sustain himself and his family. “We manage electricity and drinking water ourselves. No authority has provided us any facility,” he said, adding that around 100 families live in the area.
Another resident, Aneesh from Gorakhpur, who has been living there for six years, said nearly 300 people reside in the settlement. “We receive eviction notices at times, but no action follows. There is no support from the government,” he said.
During the visit, unsafe electricity practices were clearly visible. Residents had drawn power directly from electric poles using exposed wires. Some even charged their e-rickshaws through these illegal connections, raising the risk of short circuits and fire outbreaks.
On the opposite side of the STP, several families engaged in scrap work have also set up huts and continue to live without basic facilities. Similar encroachments have come up under flyovers, along major drains, and in neglected urban pockets across the city.
BJP corporator Amit Chowdhury criticised the LMC for failing to act against such encroachments. He said the civic body carries out anti-encroachment drives only during VIP visits, after which the situation returns to normal. He also pointed out that a slum has developed in the Ramleela ground in his ward, where one temporary structure gradually turned into a cluster of huts.
Municipal commissioner Gaurav Kumar said that no such slums are officially registered and termed them illegal encroachments. He added that the civic body can remove these settlements only after making rehabilitation arrangements for the residents.
A senior official, requesting anonymity, said legal constraints limit action. He explained that the municipal corporation cannot remove encroachments from land owned by other departments without the intervention of the district administration. He added that eviction drives require proper rehabilitation plans, which often delay action.
Earlier, on December 4, 2025, mayor Sushma Kharkwal led an enforcement drive in Gudamba’s Phool Bagh colony, where around 70 families had occupied an open plot. However, such drives have failed to provide long-term solutions, as encroachments continue to reappear.
Prashant Kumar Verma, director, commercial, Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL), said there is a tariff for slum dwellers called the lifeline consumer meant for dwellers where a connection is necessary and their electricity is cheap in comparison to others. Verma said that the connection can be made available to them on a prepaid connection basis.
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