The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Court directive on illegal construction in hill resort

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Thursday, Aug 09, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Court directive on illegal construction in hill resort

Special Correspondent

Officials asked to file action taken report

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed the Dindigul Collector, the Municipal Commissioner of Kodaikanal and the Director of Town and Country Planning to give details of the action taken against unauthorised constructions in the hill resort.

A Division Bench of Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya and Justice K.Suguna, passing interim orders on a batch of petitions relating to the unauthorised constructions in Kodaikanal, cautioned these officials that in case the individual reports to be filed by them did not have any specific detail, the court would direct them to appear in court for “assistance of the court.”

The Bench said a joint progress report filed by these authorities lacked details. “The so-called joint progress report has been filed under the signatures of the Joint Secretary to the Government, Municipal Administration and Water Supply Department and the Under Secretary of the same department. No detail regarding the progress made has been shown therein.”

The Bench then directed the Collector, the Kodaikanal Municipal Commissioner and the Director of Town and Country Planning to file progress reports wherein “they shall specifically state … in how many cases action has been taken and what are the stages of those cases?”

For example, if in some cases, unauthorised occupants claimed regularisation by grant of patta, the authorities should give the number of pattas issued or the number of pleas rejected. “Similarly, they will give details of the cases in which notices have been issued under Section 217J of the Tamil Nadu District Municipalities Act and the next date/month fixed for hearing in such cases,” the judges said.

They then posted the cases to August 27 for further proceedings.

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