The Hindu 30.06.2010
Corporation to take over OSR land from hotel
Staff Reporter
Chennai Corporation workers removing the concrete flooring from a portion of the hotel on Nungambakkam High Road on Tuesday.
CHENNAI: The Chennai Corporation on Tuesday initiated the process of taking over the Open Space Reservation land encroached upon by a hotel on Nungambakkam High Road.
Workers of the civic body started demolishing the compound wall and removing the concrete flooring from the portion encroached upon by The Park hotel.
The initiative came after the Madras High Court’s recent dismissal of Apeejay Surendra Park Hotels Ltd. petition to refrain the civic body from taking over the OSR land. A large portion of the parking space of the hotel fell into the demarcated area of nine grounds for OSR land.
Sources in the Corporation said the hotel had encroached upon the land and put up a cycle stand, sump, sewerage facility apart from using it as a parking space. It had also blocked the entrance passage by constructing a compound wall.
The OSR land was gifted to the civic body several years ago. Once the demolition is completed by Wednesday, the reclaimed land would be fenced and converted into a park, Mayor M. Subramanian said.
Tender would be called for in the next few days for developing a park on the land, sources said.
Traffic hit
Traffic on the busy junction of Nungambakkam High Road slowed down when the demolition work was undertaken in the evening rush hour.