UNDER THE COURT'S SCANNER: An unauthorised construction at Kamaraj Nagar, Thiruvanmiyur in Chennai. — Photo: M. Karunakaran

CHENNAI: About 10 days ago, the Madras High Court directed the Chennai Metropolitan Development Corporation (CMDA) and the Chennai Corporation to dispose of within a month a representation from a Thiruvanmiyur resident seeking to stop an unapproved construction by his neighbour. On Thursday, the Court summoned the CMDA Member Secretary and the Corporation Commissioner in a Public Interest Litigation on building violations in T. Nagar and Parrys Corner.

These are but two of the latest developments on the construction front, highlighting the problem of building violations and unapproved constructions. The underlying message may be the need to put in place a functional and efficient mechanism to check these two problems in the construction industry.

At a time when there appears to be a boom in the construction industry, not just in Chennai, but across the State, it is time for the Government and the local bodies to create a mechanism that can keep a tab on constructions. Such a mechanism will need a monitoring cell with a flying squad to keep track of both unauthorised constructions and visible deviations from the approved plans.

With enough whistle blowers in society to tip off the agency on such blatant violations, there will be no dearth of information. The problem will be to act upon those tip-offs in an objective, impartial and apolitical manner to deal with all violations even-handedly.

In the Thiruvanmiyur case, it was an "unauthorised construction," in which a property owner not only went ahead with the construction on his own, but also virtually took the neighbour's compound wall as a foundation for a super structure. Despite several complaints, the neighbour found no response from the authorities, and being a senior lawyer, went to the High Court and got an immediate order. And action has been initiated now. The question he has raised is whether every victim can do the same? How can the courts function if they are flooded with such petitions?

As for the second case, the PIL focuses on the absence of parking space in multi-storeyed complexes and shopping arcades, specifically in T. Nagar and Parrys corner. As a result, parking has become a huge problem.

The menace has now spread to other areas such as Mylapore, Nungambakkam, Cathedral Road and so on.

And these problems are not confined to the State's capital. They can be felt in tier-two towns such as Coimbatore, Tiruchi and Madurai for instance and can spread to other centres soon.

During the 2005 floods, authorities identified unauthorised constructions and obstructions to the water course and drains as the prime cause for such havoc.

Civic authorities said a connected problem relates to the "regularisation" programme announced by the previous regime. About 30,000 petitions are before the courts for disposal and officials are afraid whether there may another New Delhi-like problem if the court orders demolition of these buildings.

Officials say that the major constraint they would face in undertaking such a monitoring exercise would be manpower. With the kind of construction activity that is going on, it may be difficult to put so many people on the job to crack down on violations.

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