The Hindu 12.12.2013
Encroachment removed
The Palani Municipal officials removed more than two-decade-old encroachment on a municipal land meant for establishing a park.
Ramasamy (80), a retired employee of the Palani Municipality who called himself a Gandhian, had reportedly encroached on the land and constructed a house there. The municipality had served several notices on Ramasamy to vacate the place. But he did not oblige.
Amid tight security, the officials shifted the family members from the house and demolished it on Wednesday.
When contacted, Municipal Commissioner K. Saravana Kumar said the municipality had been fighting for the land since 1992.
The civic body got a judgment from court in its favour in 2010. But Ramasamy did not respond to the several notices and warnings issued by the authority. Now, the officials had retrieved the land, he added.