Urban News

The Hindu 07.01.2010

Corporation finds support for its demolition drive

Special Correspondent

Photo: M. Periasamy

ENFORCING RULES: Coimbatore Corporation workers removing an unauthorised structure in an apartment during one of the drives to restore parking space. —

COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore Corporation appears to have found support for its drive to retrieve parking space in buildings, including commercial complexes, in the city.

The civic body has formed a special squad that demolishes shops or residential structures that encroach upon space meant only for parking.

The Corporation has taken a stern view of the congestion caused by the parking of vehicles on roads because space for this purpose has not been provided in the buildings.

The Corporation is happy that a few building owners have knocked down the unauthorised structures and created space for parking.

A multi-storeyed garment store is even into providing hydraulic parking facility in the basement, where it had put up some shop structures in violation of building rules.

But, providing greater encouragement to its drive is the appreciation of councillors, including some of those who have been highly critical of some aspects of the Corporation’s functioning.

A consumer body that moved the High Court against these unauthorised constructions and unsafe also points out the court’s appreciation of the civic body’s efforts to restore parking space.

“Action has to be sustained. Otherwise, the violations will return to frustrate the Corporation and the public,” says Corporation North Zone Chairman and leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in the Council C. Padmanabhan.

The councillor says: “I said at the December 29 meeting in the Council that sustained monitoring by officials at the level of Junior Engineers would serve as a deterrent to violations. I suggest this because the opinion on the current drive is that it is completely an initiative of the Corporation Commissioner (Anshul Mishra). What is being done now should continue forever. Earlier initiatives had stopped after a couple of demolitions.”

Parking spaces must be earmarked across the city. Special teams must be formed to carry out this task.

As for buildings, the mandatory parking space must be provided and its custody must be with the local body.

There is scope for violation only when the parking space’s control is with the building owner, Mr. Padmanabhan contends.

Coimbatore Consumer Cause secretary K. Kathirmathiyon says that while disposing of his petition, the High Court had appreciated the efforts of the Corporation in forming special squads to remove unauthorised constructions.

While the court appreciated the efforts of the consumer body in highlighting the violations, it said: “We also appreciate the immediate response of the officers of the City Municipal Corporation, Coimbatore.”

The Hindu 19.12.2009

Encroachments removed from reserved site

Special Correspondent

– Photo: K. Ananthan

Swift action: Corporation officials removing encroachments from a reserved site at Brindavan Colony in the city on Friday.

COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore Corporation removed some shops from a reserved site at Brindavan Colony at Uppilipalayam in the city on Friday, as part of its drive to retrieve public purpose sites from encroachers.

Officials of the special squad of the Corporation carried out the encroachment removal. Assistant Town Planning Officer S. Ravichandran said a few petty shops, a chicken stall and a gymnasium had come upon 13.26 cents of a reserved site earmarked for a playground. (Ten per cent of the total residential layout area should be set aside as reserved/public purpose site and handed over to the local body concerned).

The Corporation squad removed the structures and created more space for the nearby bus stop. The encroachments led to congestion at the stop, the official said.

On whether the drive would be sustained across the city, he said Corporation Commissioner Anshul Mishra had ordered that a close watch must be kept on all the reserved sites. The aim was to not only retrieve sites already encroached but also to prevent fresh encroachments on these.

“The one at Brindavan Colony was encroached upon despite the Corporation having put up a board that clearly stated that the land belonged to the local body,” Mr. Ravichandran said.

The Corporation had received complaints from the public against the unauthorised structures.