What does it take to catch 921 snakes? In Akhilesh Yadav’s UP, 24 snake catchers, Rs 50 lakh

In their reports, the committees recommended a “special audit” on the cost incurred in these projects and, among other things, sought a probe into the allegation that the SP government had spent “Rs 9 crore” in two years — 2015-16 and 2016-17 — to catch snakes at Janeshwar Mishra park.

LDA’s replies to the RTI query have revealed that the amount spent on catching snakes was far less than the Rs 9 crore that was initially alleged.

The RTI replies revealed that 12 snake catchers had been deployed for combing the park in 2015-16. They caught 484 snakes and were paid Rs 28.39 lakh — that is, an average of Rs 2.36 lakh to one snake catcher and an average of Rs 5,866 for every snake caught.

In 2016-17, 12 snake catchers trapped 437 reptiles in the park and were paid Rs 21.74 lakh — an average of Rs 4,976 for every snake caught.

According to sources in the LDA, snake catchers were deployed for only two months of the year, during the monsoon season. Each snake catcher was assigned a 30-acre area during the period.

When contacted, Garg said the “inquiry (special audit) on various points in these projects is still going on”. On the allegation that the LDA had paid Rs 9 crore to snake catchers, Garg said, “During the inquiry, that information was found to be wrong. I have been told that a few lakh rupees were paid for catching snakes.”

When told about LDA’s reply to the RTI query – that Rs 50.14 lakh had been paid to catch snakes at the park – Garg said he would enquire about it.

An official who had been engaged with the project in the past said snake catchers were deployed in the Janeshwar Mishra Park after labourers working in the park refused to work for fear of being bitten and after complaints from morning walkers. The snakes caught there were shifted to Lucknow Zoo and the Kukrail forest area.

The Akhilesh government had spent around Rs 396 crore on developing the Janeshwar Mishra Park across 376 acres. The park, inaugurated in August 2014, has a 10.5-km-long walkway and a water body with gondola rides and amusement for children.

When Akhilesh’s father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, was CM from 2003-07, his government had developed the 80-acre Ram Manohar Lohia park in the city. In another RTI query, LDA told The Indian Express that snake catchers were never deployed in that park and hence no payment made for snake catching.