Urban News

The Hindu       30.06.2010

Corporation to take over OSR land from hotel

Staff Reporter

Photo: S.S.Kumar

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.

The Hindu      21.06.2010

Encroachments removed

Special Correspondent

—Photo: M. Moorthy

CLEARANCE:Encroachment eviction drive being carried out at K.K.Nagar in Tiruchi on

TIRUCHI: The extensive encroachment eviction drive taken up by the Tiruchi Corporation in the city over the last week, in the run-up to the implementation of the Tamil Nadu Urban Road Infrastructure Project (TURIP), is expected to continue over the next few days.

The civic body has taken up eviction operations on the West Boulevard Road, Madurai Road, Chinthamani, Thennur and a few other parts of the city. The drive is likely to continue in a few other arterial roads of the city in the days to come, senior Corporation officials indicated.

The move comes in the wake of the Corporation's attempts to clear the ground for the implementation of TURIP, a project which seeks to strengthen and upgrade city roads to international standards. Roads and other infrastructure to be developed under the scheme would be of international standards, with underground ducts for utility services and cables, and would not require upgradation for the next 20 years.

The Corporation is planning to widen and develop the West Boulevard Road, where a few temples were demolished recently, as a model road under TURIP, Corporation Commissioner T.T. Balsamy said.

According to available indications, about 350 km of roads are likely to be taken up for development in the first phase of the project. The project is expected to go on stream this year.

Under the project, roads are to be improved with storm water drains, barrier-free footpaths, underground ducts for cables, medians, lane markings, road signs and street lights. New bridges, underpasses and parking lots are also planned under the project. The project consultant, DHV India Private Limited., has already made an extensive study of the existing infrastructure of the city.

It has already identified a list of encroachments to be removed and the utilities to be shifted in almost all major roads in the city. The eviction drive is the upshot of the plans being evolved under the project. A City Road Plan is also being prepared by the project consultant and the detailed project report is expected to be ready soon.

Meanwhile, Mr.Balsamy has already appealed to encroachers, especially managers/caretakers of places of worship, to remove the structures voluntarily and cooperate with the Corporation. Corporation officials insist that all encroachments would be removed impartially in a phased manner.