Urban News

The Hindu       10.06.2010

Unauthorised structures found in five-storeyed apartment demolished

Special Correspondent

Photo: S.Siva Saravanan

PUNITIVE ACTION: Workers of the Coimbatore Corporation demolishing unauthorised structures in an apartment under construction at Saibaba Colony in the city on Wednesday. -

COIMBATORE: The special demolition squad of the Coimbatore Corporation demolished on Wednesday unauthorised structures in a five-storeyed apartment under construction at Saibaba Colony.

Official sources said the most evident violation was the non-allocation of the required setback space and this was detected by Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin when he visited that area – Venkatachalam Road – to open a park.

Mr. Stalin drew the attention of the Corporation authorities to the violation and ordered appropriate action.

Town Planning Officer M. Soundarajan said one-third of the total height of an apartment should be earmarked as setback space on all sides.

Setback space

Accordingly, the apartment under focus should have had a setback space measuring 12 ft or 13 ft. But, there was hardly four feet of setback space on this premises, he said.

One violation led to the detection of more, he said.

The builder had obtained permission only for 1,300 sq.ft. construction on each floor, but was building flats measuring 2,500 sq.ft. The site measured only about 3.500 sq.ft.

The Hindu     20.05.2010

Removal of encroachments will continue: Corporation

Special Correspondent

— Photo:M. Periasamy.

Clean city: Corporation workers removing unauthorised structures at R.S.Puram in the city on Saturday.

COIMBATORE: By carrying out demolitions almost every other day, the Coimbatore Corporation is sending a strong message that it will not allow unauthorised constructions to stay on in the city. The choice is between the owners of the structures themselves demolishing these or the Corporation doing it. Either way, the structures will be removed.

“Our achievement is very good so far,” says Corporation Commissioner Anshul Mishra. The drive was on at a brisk pace in the early stages. Now, it has been slowed down to enable the Town Planning wing to concentrate on land acquisition and related issues for the infrastructure works for the World Classical Tamil Conference.

But, those that need immediate intervention to enable road works are being taken up. “The drive is continuing across the city, though the pace has been slowed down deliberately to accommodate other pressing works. It will be intensified soon after the conference,” the Commissioner said.

The Corporation says the bulk of the structures removed so far had been put up by commercial establishments, with most of these being encroachment of space meant for parking vehicles. Three of these were in commercial complexes at R.S. Puram.

The Corporation is particularly severe on structures encroaching parking space and obstructing flow of traffic. And, these include temples that have come up on roads. The sources say that identifying the unauthorised structures, preparing a list of these and carrying out demolition will be a continuous process till the city is rid of all such constructions.

Nearly 20 demolitions have been carried out since the special demolition squad of the Corporation was pressed into service by Corporation Commissioner Anshul Mishra on December 17 last year.

Land required to lay link roads had been retrieved from encroachers on N.S.R. Road at Saibaba Colony, at Pappanaickenpalayam, near Nava India Road, at Munuswamy Nagar at Ramanathapuram, Sivananda Colony and Kathiravan Gardens.

Temples had been removed at a number of places with the consent of the local people. The areas included Velandipalayam, Kovilmedu, Masakalipalayam Road, Kamarajarpuram Road and Syrian Church Road. Automobile workshops that reduced roads to a chicken neck were also removed.

The civic body had also cracked down on unauthorised constructions in residential premises. An official gave an instance of an apartment builder putting up an additional structure on a space meant for parking and another on an open space without obtaining plan approval.

The Corporation and the National Highways removed unauthorised structures east of Aathupaalam.

People who had put up similar structures on the western side removed these on Saturday.

The same day the Corporation removed an unauthorised structure being constructed by a commercial complex on D.B. Road at R.S. Puram.