Chennai: In a bid to restore the marshlands in Pallikaranai, near Chennai, to its original state, the Madras High Court has imposed a blanket ban on registration of Pallikaranai marshlands anywhere in the state.
Justice N. Kirubakaran imposed the ban after it was brought to his notice that clandestinely and systematically marshlands in Pallikaranai village comprising in several survey numbers are being alienated illegally, fraudulently and by design, by people with connections, by clubbing parts of marshlands with some other properties which are located in various parts of Tamil Nadu.
He directed the Joint Registrar, South Chennai Registration office, Saidapet, who was the competent authority to register the documents with regard to the lands located in Pallikaranai area including marshlands not to allow any further registrations.
IG has been directed to submit details of registrations, year wise from 1990 onwards that took place in Tamilnadu, in the form of Sale, Gift, Allotment, Lease etc within 12 weeks.
The authorities were directed to prohibit construction of any kind anywhere in the marshlands. The judge directed the authorities to verify whether pattas have already been changed in respect of marshlands in favour of private parties.
Originally two people who approached the court for anticipatory bail in regards to alienating about 66.70 acres of the Pallikaranai land for Rs.66 crores, while granting the bail on October 28, 2015, he directed the Corporation of Chennai to submit plans for restoring the marshlands to a condition before the corporation started using it as a garbage dumping yard.
When the case came up for hearing on last Friday, the judge after noticing that the Pallikaranai marshlands were alienated or encumbered by registering those documents in register offices in various parts of Tamil Nadu, even though only the Joint Registrar, South Chennai Registration office, Saidapet, was the competent authority to register the documents, suo moto impleaded 20 government officials including Rural Administration and Local Administration secretary, Revenue secretary, Commercial Tax and Registration secretary and Inspector General of Registration as parties in the case and gave the present directions.
