The Hindu                      28.03.2013

Kadapa Collector told to evict encroachers

Special Correspondent 

Upa-Lokayuktha Justice M.V.S. Krishnaji Rao, who held a ‘camp court’ at Tirupati on Wednesday, held elaborate discussions on a gamut of issues with the heads of all the concerned departments like endowments, revenue, medical and health and so on and issued a slew of orders.

Later talking to the media persons, the Upa-Lokayuktha also took the occasion to explain to the media the distinct powers and the jurisdictions of the Lokayuktha and Upa-Lokayuktha and said except for the Chief Ministers, all Ministers, MLAs, MLCs would come under the purview of the Lokayuktha.

As for the government servants, while from collectors and junior IAS officers down to the cadre of attenders would come under the ambit of the Upa-Lokayuktha, the Lokayuktha would have jurisdiction of senior IAS officers. Similarly, barring private cases, the two Lokayukthas has powers to take up all other cases, either suo moto on the basis of news paper reports or on the basis of the complaints brought to their notice, or referred to them by the Governor.

As to the specific issues discussed and decisions taken at the sitting here on Wednesday, the Upa-Lokayuktha cited the orders issued asking collector and joint collector, Kadapa district, to take immediate steps to retrieve from alleged encroachers 115 acres of land at Proddatur belonging to Pitla Thayaramma Charitable Trust and hand it over to the Endowments Department. He attributed the delay in the retrieval of the land to the lack of coordination between the revenue and the endowments department.

He said if the government house sites allotted to journalists were found to be in the possession of non-journalists, such lands would be immediately resumed and action would be taken against the concerned. He also ordered that shopping areas under the control of major temples must be auctioned every three years and allotted to highest bidders, to check the menace of sub-leasing for exorbitant rates.

TTD and endowments officials besides the Lokayuktha DSP took part in the review meeting.

The Hindu                          25.03.2013

Illegal structure on footpath abutting Mukesh residence demolished

Staff Reporter 

More than a year after it was alleged that Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani’s 27-storey mansion ‘Antilia’ on Altamount Road had encroached upon a footpath, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has demolished the unlawful construction.

In answer to a query filed by a city-based Right to Information (RTI) activist, it was revealed that a couple of weeks ago, the mansion staff were compelled to remove a sloping bund wall and some flower beds from the footpath abutting Mr. Ambani’s residence following a notice from the BMC. “The BMC had earlier bent the rules to ‘regularise’ the anomaly… now, the civic body officials have said the unlawful stretch has finally been cleared,” said RTI activist Anil Galgali who has been pursuing this matter.

“The incident sends out a clear message that no one can bend rules no matter how wealthy he or she may be,” he said. According to Mr. Galgali, the Ambani residence had encroached on 309.31 sq. metres of setback area (the mansion is spread across 37,000 sq.m.).