Deccan Chronicle         17.12.2010

Monsoon over, civic body focus on prime OSR land

Dec. 16: The city corporation, busy battling the monsoon problems over the past two months, has now shifted its focus to reclamation of open space reserve (OSR) properties. Teams of vigilance officials are working overtime to ascertain the building plans of prime properties in posh Nungambakkam and Kilpauk.

According to vigilance department sources, a detailed report on OSR land available in Kilpauk and Nungambakkam has already been submitted to the corporation commissioner. Subsequently, the drive will continue in Triplicane and Saidapet zones and field officers have been asked to collect details related to properties with OSR land for acquisition.

When contacted, mayor M. Subramanian said the civic body had been actively reclaiming OSR land till August but the drive was put on hold for short time after the monsoon struck Chennai, forcing the corporation to rain alert mode. With the rainy season coming to an end, the drive to retrieve OSR land will be intensified.

So far the corporation has reclaimed properties worth over `3,000 crore, he said. According to Ripon Building sources, the vigilance department of the corporation has been entrusted to prepare a report on the status of OSR land in Chennai.

In the meantime, civic officials on Thursday acquired a 5,400 sq. ft plot in Velachery, which had been fraudulently sold with forged documents. The corporation also lodged a police complaint against seven people who were involved in the fraudulent land deal.