The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Loksatta trains its guns on Tenali Municipality

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Tuesday, Aug 07, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Loksatta trains its guns on Tenali Municipality

Staff Reporter

Local body gave wrong information to HC, it says

Srinivasa Rao releases
copies of the information provided by the local body
Town Planning officer neither denies nor confirms allegations

TENALI: The Tenali Municipality has deviated from the norms of providing road margins and parking areas to construct its own shopping complexes at least in seven places in the town, according to Loksatta Organisation.

Going by the signed statement of Tenali Municipal Commissioner Viswanadham, who has retired now, there is no parking area provided for seven shopping complexes at Balijepalli Vari Street, Burripalem Road, Near Boys’ High School, Satyanarayana Park, Opposite Swaraj Theatre, and at Rajaka tank.

Surprisingly all these have been shown as constructed on Road Margins, which is prohibited as per the master plan and building plan approval provisions. The NGO obtained this information under the provisions of Information Act, according to its president N. Srinivasa Rao.

Encroachment

At a press conference he released the copies of the information provided by the local body and claimed that it had provided wrong information to the Andhra Pradesh High Court in a suo-motu case under writ petition No. 15591/2006. Distributing copies of a statement signed by Municipal Commissioner on April 24, and purportedly given to the HC following its direction to submit information on encroachment of public places, lands, parking places, cellars, deviating from the zonal, master and sanctioned building plans.

The court had asked the local bodies to submit the details on April 23. The information contained in the information given under Information Act says there were 173 deviations or encroachments, but to the court it had given a list of only 52 depicting rest as regular. Three buildings had deviated the master plan and were constructed unauthorisedly.

When contacted the Town Planning Officer Sambaiah, told The Hindu that he was not in town and did not have information ready with him.

He neither denied nor confirmed the allegation and said he would clarify the position in a couple of days.

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