Encroachers' Aadhaar Cards Show Govt Land as Address!

The land near Ballu Adda, close to 1090 Intersection, where LDA carried out a demolition drive on Wednesday to reclaim some government land; (left) an Aadhaar card issued to one of the persons who lived on the encroached land. HT

- Animesh Mishra

LUCKNOW: The issuance of Aadhaar cards to hundreds of people living on encroached government land near Balu Adda area, close to the 1090 intersection, has raised serious concerns over the verification process in the state capital. The issue came to fore when Team HT reached the spot on Wednesday where the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) on January 18 conducted a demolition drive to get some portion of the area cleared to reclaim the entire land of around 2.59 lakh sq ft.

The encroachers presented their Aadhaar card listing the encroached area as their current address as 'Jhopadi Dalibagh', 'Bahukhandi Mantri Awas', and 'Dhenumati Apartment', complicating the eviction process. The current episode has unearthed systemic flaws in Aadhaar's verification process, especially in cases involving illegal encroachments or undocumented residents.