CHENNAI:
A thin file hidden in a stack of records in the municipal
administration department is no ordinary document. It contains the hopes
of more than 10,000 residents of Nolambur. The file contains a proposal
to acquire land to lay a road that will connect Nolambur to the rest of
the city.

In June, following representations from residents of
Nolambur phase 1, mayor Saidai S Duraisamy and other officials made an
inspection and found the residents lacked basic amenities — roads, water
and sewage connections. This is because a roughly hewn stretch named
Sri Ram Nagar Main Road, which residents had been using since 2006, is
stuck in litigation and not relaid. It was part of a village panchayat
and private individuals claimed it was part of their land. They weren’t
willing to give it to the corporation.

After inspection, the corporation proposed to acquire land from owners under the Land Acquisition Act
for 87.37 lakh. The proposal was introduced as an urgency clause under
the Act and approved by the council hardly two days later.

However, nothing has moved since then. “We are grateful for the civic
body’s timely response in deciding to acquire land, but we hope the
process speeds up, and does not end up as one of its many forgotten
promises,” says Federation of Nolambur Residents Associations president G
Suresh.

Sriram Nagar Main Road and School Road are the only
two access routes for residents of nearly 2,500 apartments in Nolambur
to get to Bharathi Salai, a main road in West Mogappair, and from there
to other areas in the city. “People here work in areas such as Ambattur,
Anna Nagar, Mount Road and Nungambakkam among others and need to use
this road every day,” says Jayanth Namboodiri, another resident.

The other problem is the lack of water and sewage connections as the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board, or Metrowater says it cannot lay pipes under disputed land. “Metrowater says it has to belong to the local body,” says G Suresh.