The Hindu 24.05.2013
Remove seal on retail outlet: HC
: The Madras High Court bench here has directed the
Madurai Local Planning Authority (LPA) to remove the seal on a private
retail outlet in Madurai.
The LPA had sealed the
multi-storied Big Bazaar outlet here for not having obtained approval to
construct the building. N.K. Ashok, the deputy manager of Future Value
Retail Limited, filed the writ petition at the court stating the
building that was sealed was owned by Jeyam Velmurugan Associates. They
had obtained approval for the building plan from the Madurai City
Municipal Corporation in 2008, the petitioner claimed.
Based
on the directions of the court, Collector Anshul Mishra filed a
counter-affidavit in which he said that the commissioner of the Madurai
City Municipal Corporation had granted permission to construct buildings
between 2006 and 2010 ‘beyond the powers delegated to him’.
The
commissioner had also signed on behalf of the member-secretary of
Madurai Local Planning Authority without any authorisation, he said.
“As
per the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971 there is a
parameter to approve multi-storeyed buildings. As per the Act, there are
major violations in this building”, the Collector said justifying the
act of sealing the retail outlet.
“The petitioner had
not responded to the notices served on them. Therefore, the plan
approval was rejected and the petitioner directed to obtain a fresh plan
approval”, he further said.
A division bench
comprising Justices M.M. Sundresh and R. Mala, on Wednesday, directed
the LPA to remove the seal and allow the petitioner to use the building.
However, the judges directed the petitioner not to put up additional
construction in the building.
However, judges directed the petitioner not to put up additional construction.