The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Pranab hears Tambaram residents' grievances

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 19, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Pranab hears Tambaram residents' grievances

K. Manikandan

People wanting to build houses denied NOCs, Minister told

CITIZENS' APPEAL: Residents explaining their grievances to Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee (third from right) in Meenambakkam on Tuesday. Union Minister G.K.Vasan (second from right) is also seen. — Photo: A. Muralitharan

TAMBARAM: Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday listened to grievances of the Thiruvanchery village residents. They told him that they were unable to build houses due to the non-issuance of No Objection Certificates (NOC) by the Indian Air Force, Tambaram, and the consequent refusal of local bodies to issue building permits.

More than a dozen residents of the village, led by T.V. Punniakodi, secretary of the Kancheepuram North District of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee met the Defence Minister at the Coast Guard Air Station in Meenambakkam.

G.K. Vasan, Union Minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation, Dhanushkodi Athithan, M.P. and Air Commodore M.S. Ahluwalia, Air Officer Commanding, Indian Air Force Station, Tambaram, were present during the meeting. Residents said as the IAF did not issue the NOCs to residents who wanted to build houses within 900 metres from the periphery of the IAF base, the local bodies, be it the village panchayats or Tambaram Municipality, did not permit them to construct houses.

But several commercial establishments, including engineering colleges had constructed multi-storied buildings, the residents told the Minister. When the Mr. Mukherjee sought a clarification on how this was possible, officials told them that the IAF had nothing to do with it and that it was up to the urban local bodies to regulate them.

When Mr. Mukherjee wanted to know the status of NOCs issued by the IAF, Air Cmde. Ahluwalia said the IAF, Tambaram, had stopped issuing them. "The last time we (IAF, Tambaram) issued an NOC was in 1993," the officer told Mr. Mukherjee. Residents also wanted the Defence Ministry to issue a public notification that the NOCs were not necessary for building houses so that the State government could direct local bodies around IAF, Tambaram, to issue building permits.

The Minister assured the residents that their grievances would be looked into. Officials from the State Highways Department also submitted to the Minister details about the extent of land required from his Ministry for the completion of some key projects.

The Department needed about 4.3 acres of land from the Defence Ministry, the officials told Mr. Mukherjee, who replied that Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had already spoken to him regarding this and that issue was being looked into.

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