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Unauthorised structures: HC pulls up officials

Saturday, 04 August 2012 05:51 administrator
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The Hindu   04.08.2012

Unauthorised structures: HC pulls up officials

Special Correspondent

The inaction and negligence of officials of Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) and the Chennai Corporation, besides extraneous considerations, has led to unauthorised and illegal constructions coming up.

The First Bench of the Madras High Court comprising the Chief Justice M.Y. Eqbal and Justice T.S. Sivagnanam observed this in its order on a petition. The petitioner, J. Narayanan of Ashoknagar requested the court direct the authorities to issue a direction against one Mangala Ramakrishnan for putting up an unauthorised construction in a building without obtaining planning permission.

The Bench observed that before it took any action against the CMDA and Chennai Corporation officials, it was directing them to take action towards demolishing the illegal and unauthorised construction.

In an order in another case, the Bench directed the Government Pleader to seek instructions as to why the matter should not be referred to CBI for holding an enquiry.

In a petition, R. Ramamurthy and his wife Mahalakshmi of Neelankarai sought to quash a demolition notice of May 28 of the Zonal Officer, Corporation zone-XV, and direct the authorities to approve the plan and the construction put up by them. The petitioner said he decided to construct a building consisting of two floors with two houses in each and applied for approval of the plan to the St.Thomas Mount Panchayat Union. With regards to the application, he was told that the authorities could not pass any order and he could put up the construction in accordance with rules and later, they would consider the application.However, he alleged, that his neighbours who were inimical towards him had filed a writ petition

By an earlier order, the court had directed the Corporation counsel to file an affidavit stating as to why officials allowed the petitioner to construct such a palatial building. In the counter, the Corporation Executive Engineer filed an affidavit that the site was inspected on March 13 this year based on a CMDA letter. It was found that the entire construction was unauthorised and hence notice was issued.

The Bench observed that EE had very conveniently evaded the question posed. Since the respondent had failed to file an affidavit, the Bench said it was giving the direction to the Government Pleader.

Last Updated on Saturday, 04 August 2012 05:52
 

Multi-storeyed building under construction sealed

Tuesday, 31 July 2012 06:19 administrator
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The Hindu    31.07.2012

Multi-storeyed building under construction sealed

S. Sundar

“It was constructed on site classified as industrial zone”

IN THE DOCK:Officials of the Local Planning Authority and Revenue Department discussing in front of the multi-storeyed building whichwas sealed on Monday.— Photo: G. Moorthy
IN THE DOCK:Officials of the Local Planning Authority and Revenue Department discussing in front of the multi-storeyed building whichwas sealed on Monday.— Photo: G. Moorthy

 

A multi-storeyed residential apartment under construction was sealed by the officials of Local Planning Authority on Monday for violating various building plan norms.

This is the first-ever building sealed by the officials after Collector Anshul Mishra, who is also the Chairperson of LPA, announced that stringent action would be taken against buildings that had violated the building norms. Earlier this month, the officials had served “stop work” and “restoration” notices for two multi-storeyed apartments in Tallakulam and Azhwarpuram.

Led by Member secretary of LPA, C. Baskara Thondaiman, and Tahsildar (South), P. Muruganandam, the officials sealed three gates of the building under construction on the Kothandaraman Mill Road at Mahalipatti.

When the officials arrived at the spot, construction work was underway.The officials, amidst police bandobust, ordered stop work and directed all the workers to leave the premises before the gates were sealed.

The six-storeyed residential building was being constructed on the land which has been classified as controlled industrial zone as per the approved master plan of the city.

The notice pasted on the gates read that building was constructed in violation of the master plan without plan approval and hence it was being sealed under the Town and Country Plan Act 1971.

The Collector said that the residential building could be constructed only after reclassification of the land use.Besides, the multi-storeyed building, where the construction of physical structure was almost over, had violated the building height ceiling norms.

“The Corporation has no power to give building plan approval for any building beyond 15-metre height. This power is with the State Government,” Mr. Mishra said.

Officials also pointed out few other violations like the open site reservation had not been made and the required land on the over 2.20 acre of land was not handed over to the Corporation.

Besides, it was said by the officials that the infrastructure and amenities fee was not collected by the local body while granting permission for the building plan.

 

17 private companies line up to clean Chennai streets

Friday, 27 July 2012 09:44 administrator
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The Times of India    27.07.2012

17 private companies line up to clean Chennai streets

CHENNAI: Many corporates see gold in garbage. Chennai Corporation's decision to privatise garbage collection in 15 zones across the city has attracted eyeballs from India and abroad, with at least 17 companies vying for a piece of the 400crore pie. The civic body had already privatised conservancy operations in three of its zones - Adyar, Kodambakkam and Teynampet. However, the jury is still out on whether privatizing conservancy operations would mean a cleaner city.

In March, the civic body had decided to invite an expression of interest from companies willing to undertake conservancy operations in the city. At least 17 companies wanted to grab contracts for part of the 400 crore annual budget to dispose the city's solid waste.

Last month, the companies submitted proposals explaining their operations, technology and experience in the field to the civic body. On Thursday, the corporation council passed a resolution approving the shift to privatisation and said that though the civic body spends a huge chunk of its income on garbage operations, they don't earn anything from it in return. A private company is expected to be more efficient because they might risk losing their investments in case the civic body revokes their contract, they said.

Though the corporation seemed gung-ho about their latest move, residents were not so enthused. They said private or corporate companies may not necessarily mean a cleaner neighbourhood. "When Onyx took over, we did not have complaints. The streets were clean and our garbage was collected regularly. However, in the last five years, the situation has deteriorated rapidly," says Mohana Pai, a resident of Kasturibai nagar.

The locality in zone 13 (Earlier located in zone 10) is probably the only area in the city that where conservancy operations were undertaken by different organizations starting from Chennai Corporation, Onyx, Neel metal Fanalca and Ramky Enviro.

The corporation first experimented with privatization in 2000, when they outsourced garbage clearance in three zones-the present zone 9,10 and 13-- to Onyx Private Limited for five years. Success prompted them to continue with the decision and soon Neel Metal Fanalca and Ramky Enviro took over.

Lodging complaints is also becoming an issue. "The corporation has a proper helpline and website. Even six months after Ramky took over, we place our complaints with the civic body engineers who then give us Ramky's number," said Jhanvi Rao, a resident of T Nagar. While the civic body's reason behind the move is severe staff shortage, sources in the corporation say, it is a move to reduce the financial burden in the long-term.


Last Updated on Friday, 27 July 2012 09:46
 
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