“When the matter was taken up on Thursday, additional advocate general P. Wilson, on instructions from the government, agreed that a public hearing would be provided for,” the bench said. “The corporation is directed to issue an advertisement in an English and Tamil daily on or before April 24 stating that the public hearing will be held at a community centre in that area on April 30 or if required, on any subsequent date.”

“The corporation will submit its report after the hearing on June 14, by which time, the hearing will be completed. In the meanwhile, the status quo already granted will continue,” the bench added. The Chennai Corporation, in its counter, stated that the existing playground will not be affected due to the project.

‘Don’t insist on PAN numbers’
The Madras high court has directed the Union government not to insist that two non-banking financial institutions quote the permanent account numbers (PAN) of their depositors on form 15G/15H. It has asked that the Centre deduct TDS on interest paid by the depositors subject to the condition that they submit form 15G/15H with a declaration of their status as non-assessees.

Justice Chitra Venkataraman posted to June 17 further hearing of petitions filed by Shriram City Union Finance Limited and Shriram Transport Finance Company Ltd, Chennai, seeking that section 206AA of the Income Tax Act be declared ultra vires.

Section 206AA requires investors to furnish PAN on form 15G to avoid TDS and consequently requires financial institutions to quote the number. Accepting the arguments of the counsel for the petitioners, the judge said, “Considering the practical difficulties in getting a PAN in respect of non-assessees, this court is satisfied with the prima facie case made by the two institutions.”

* Consult panchayat to set up waste plant
The Madras high court has held that the Kuthamba-kkam panchayat must be consulted before the proposed solid waste management facility (SWMF) is established at Kuthambakkam village.

A division bench comprising Justices Elipe Dharma Rao and K.K. Sasidharan disposed of petitions filed by S. Nandakumar and the Kuthambakkam panchayat, challenging the establishment of the SWMF on a 65 acre plot in the Kuthambakkam village panchayat area. The bench made it clear to the government that before taking action, the panchayat concerned should be consulted in accordance with Section 134(3) of the Tamil Nadu Panchayat Act.

It said the panchayat wo-uld have to be taken into co-nfidence in view of the larger public interest.