Lucknow: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav and his wife Dimple Yadav have dropped their plans to build a heritage hotel in the high-security security zone after the Allahabad high court stayed the project.

The couple has now informed the high court that they will now construct a house on the same 23,872-square-foot plot on Vikramaditya Marg and the same will be used for residential purposes. The plot in question is located at a stone’s throw from the state headquarters of the Samajwadi Party.

Sources said that Ms Yadav will soon take back the application submitted to the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA), seeking clearances for the proposed hotel.

The couple had applied to LDA for approval of the map of their proposed hotel, ‘Hibiscus Heritage’. The couple had also sought clearances from DG (Security), Estate Officer of UP government and general manager of Lucknow Jal Sansthan. and Nazul Land Officer of the authority. Since the plot comes under a high-security zone where buildings cannot be more than seven meters, all NOCs were required.

According to the documents, the couple had purchased the 23,872-square-foot plot at Vikramaditya Marg in 2005 at a cost of Rs 39 lakh from one Jwala Ramnath. The property is now worth crores.

A PIL was recently filed in court, raising objections to the construction of the hotel as the venue comes in a high-security zone.

The litigant Shishir Chaturvedi had said, “I had filed a PIL in the case as this area comes under the high-security zone where many prominent people reside and there can be security issues. I am happy that the couple has taken back their proposal.”