The Hindu 23.05.2013
Corporation yet to be compensated for prime land handed over in 1986
The Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) owes the Chennai Corporation crores for a 73-acre property it took over in 1986.
Soon,
however, the civic body may have to cough up an equivalent amount to
gain control of a community hall spread over three grounds of TNHB land.
In
1986, the Chennai Corporation handed over 73.73 acres of land in
Arumbakkam to TNHB. The present-day MMDA Colony was built on that
property under the Madras Urban Development Project funded by the World
Bank. But the Corporation was not paid for the property transfer.
The
land price fixed by the revenue department in 1986 for the undeveloped
property was just Rs. 42.31 lakh. But today, the Chennai Corporation
will get a compensation of less than Rs. 7 crore (including compound
interest) for the area which covers Corporation wards 105 and 108.
On
the other hand, the three-ground land where the TNHB community hall
sought by the Corporation stands is worth at least that much.
On
Friday, Mayor Saidai Duraisamy, elected representatives and officials
inspected the community hall in MMDA colony as residents had voiced
protest against TNHB’s move to auction off the property next week.
“The
community hall has remained closed for more than nine years now. Over
time, it turned into a public health hazard as garbage was dumped there.
Last month, Corporation workers cleaned up the area.
Residents
have now requested the Corporation to takeover the community hall,”
said area councillor V. Sukumarbabu. At next week’s auction, the price
of the three grounds of land is expected to be more than Rs. 7 crore.
On
May 22, the Chennai Corporation council is likely to pass a resolution
seeking government approval for the Rs. 7-crore compensation amount due
from TNHB.
As many as 2,334 housing plots were
developed in MMDA Colony by TNHB in 1986. The TNHB project commenced in
1977 but land transfer from the Chennai Corporation to the TNHB was
carried out in 1986.
Most of the neighbourhoods developed by TNHB in the city have witnessed spiralling land prices over the past two decades.
Some
of the neighbourhoods developed here by the TNHB include Anna Nagar,
K.K. Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Bharathi Nagar, Indira Nagar, Besant Nagar,
Sashtri Nagar, Thiruvanmiyur, Tambaram, Arumbakkam, Villivakkam,
Kodungaiyur, Mogappair (east), Mogappair (west), Maduravoyal, Manali,
Madhavaram, Ambattur, Avadi and Velachery.