LUCKNOW, June 14 -- An on-ground investigation by Hindustan Times has exposed a massive illegal soil mining operation operating unabated across villages falling under the Lucknow Development Authority's (LDA) proposed Wellness City project. Earth excavated from multiple local sites is being transported day and night to feed the LDA's own upcoming projects, including the Green Corridor and internal township roads. The findings have exposed glaring gaps in monitoring and raised questions over how soil is reaching the authority's projects when LDA itself admits that "soil theft" is taking place. Following the findings, additional district magistrate (city-east) Mahendra Pal Singh constituted a team to investigate the matter and sought coordinates of the sites for verification. In the wellness city project, a Green Corridor project work is also being undertaken where the soil is being dropped. During a day-long and late-night inspection on Wednesday, HT found heavy earthmovers and dumpers operating at multiple locations in villages including Noorpur Behata and Churheya. At a site near the Indira Dam flyover, where the Gomti river flows below, excavators had created an approach road by dumping soil into a water body. After travelling nearly 1 km inside, HT found an around eight feet deep pit. The reporter first visited the site at around 6.40 pm and found two men present, one of whom identified himself as a contractor. However, when the team returned at around 10.51 pm, two heavy earther movers which were found to be digging the soil, were actively extracting soil and loading dumpers. The loaded vehicles subsequently carried the earth to the Green Corridor stretch being developed inside the Wellness City project. HT also observed water tankers sprinkling water on temporary earthen roads to facilitate smooth movement of trucks, indicating organised operations. In another instance, HT followed a dumper carrying soil from a separate excavation site near the road leading to Ekana cricket stadium. The vehicle left the site around 10.30 pm and travelled through CG City Road and Sultanpur Road before using the Outer Ring Road. It later entered the service lane and turned near Noorpur old road towards the Wellness City area, where the soil was unloaded along the Green Corridor alignment. Despite the continuous movement of heavy vehicles, no police check posts or enforcement teams were seen anywhere on the route. The investigation revealed that the Outer Ring Road has emerged as a major transit corridor for transporting illegally extracted soil. The excavation was not limited to isolated locations. HT found similar signs of extensive soil removal in Noorpur Behta and Churhiya villages. Large pits exceeding eight feet in depth had formed at several places, exposing tree roots and drastically altering the topography. Excavation was also visible on plots pooled by farmers under the LDA's land pooling policy. Experts have repeatedly warned that unregulated soil mining damages fertile agricultural land, weakens natural drainage systems and increases the risk of waterlogging during monsoon. Some of the excavation sites are located close to the inspection building of the Gomti aqueduct under the irrigation department and the office of the planning and project division-II of the irrigation and water resources department. Despite the proximity of these government establishments, the activity continued openly, found the investigation. The scale and visibility of the operation have raised questions over the role of the district administration, police, mining department and LDA officials. Sources within the LDA alleged that officials in the engineering department were aware of the ongoing extraction. According to sources, contractors and other individuals have been carrying out the excavation with support from insiders. They further claimed that recent disputes between contractors and engineers exposed alleged irregularities within the system. The allegations have intensified concerns over possible collusion and a lack of internal oversight. Sources within LDA revealed that the authority is arranging soil extraction from its own schemes and sites to meet project requirements, which is even sanctioned on files. Sources further said that project timelines could be affected if sufficient soil is not extracted and supplied to upcoming projects. They also indicated that existing mining permissions are inadequate for timely project completion, prompting contractors to make separate arrangements for soil procurement. When contacted, LDA vice-chairman Prathamesh Kumar initially said contractors might have obtained permission and that shifting of soil required approval from the authority. Later, however, he admitted that "a lot of soil theft is happening." His remarks have raised questions over how the authority is sourcing earth for its upcoming projects and whether it has mechanisms to verify the origin of the material being used. Additional district magistrate (city-east) Mahendra Pal Singh said a team had been formed to investigate the allegations. "A team has been constituted to investigate the matter. Action will be taken accordingly. We have also asked HT to share the coordinates and locations so that teams can reach the sites easily. Whatever emerges during the inquiry, appropriate action will be taken," he said. Residents of Noorpur Behata alleged that large-scale excavation near the dam has become routine. A shopkeeper said dumpers regularly pass through the area during the night and no one monitors their movement....