HC says it has failed in preventing illegal constructions put up by individuals in collusion with govt. officials
The Madras High Court has conceded to have “completely failed” in its attempts to prevent illegal/ unauthorised constructions put up by individuals in collusion with government officials, because of the money power possessed by the violators.
A Division Bench of Justices R. Subramanian and R. Sakthivel lamented that the authorities ensured strict enforcement of the rules only against the economically weaker sections of society but turn a blind eye to the affluent.
The HC made these observations while disposing of a writ petition filed by former Additional Solicitor General G. Rajagopalan complaining about noise pollution due to laying of pile foundation for an 11storey private hospital on St. Mary’s Road in Alwarpet, Chennai.
After the filing of the case on January 2, 2024, the judges learnt that the construction works had begun even before issuance of building plan approval by Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), but the latter had not issued a stop work notice.
The records revealed that the Headmaster of St. Francis ◣avier’s Matriculation School had complained to the Chennai Collector on September 4, 2023, regarding cracks that had developed in the school buildings because of the nearby construction work.
The letter was forwarded to CMDA officials on November 7, 2023. An inspection, carried out on November 16, 2023, revealed that the piling works was under way at the site, but the officials referred the issue to Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) for further action.
The GCC issued a notice to the developer on December 11, 2023, and called for the building plan.
The developer replied to the notice on December 12, 2023, stating that the process of obtaining the sanction was in the final stages, and no construction work would be carried out till then.
On the basis of an interim order passed in the present writ petition, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) had conducted an inspection at the construction site on February 2 and found that the ambient noise levels exceeded the prescribed standards. “It is therefore clear that even on February 2, 2024 the construction work had not been stopped,” the judges said.
Since the developer has now obtained the building plan approval, the judges permitted it to continue the construction subject to strict vigil by the CMDA, GCC, and the TNPCB.
They directed the developer, GCC and the TNPCB to pay costs of ₹25 lakh, ₹5 lakh, and ₹2 lakh respectively to Adyar Cancer Institute and report to the court on March 13.
They also directed the TNPCB to frame guidelines to keep in check noise pollution created by largescale constructions and submit them before the court on March 13.