Civic body builds multi-purpose hall
Overcrowded trains resulted in further delay as the automated gates took time to shut which is essential for a metro to start running. (Photo: Twitter)
CHENNAI: To prevent land-grabbers from gobbling up its lands, the Chennai corporation has taken up building infrastructure on the property. At Thillai Ganga Nagar 46th street, a multi-purpose hall is being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 14 lakh. Only a small portion of land had been remaining there after acquisition by the state highways department for laying the Inner Ring Road.
Although it had remained vacant for several years, – it was occasionally used as a dumping yard by residents living nearby – land-grabbers were never too far away. “These were people with local political influence. The land is prime real estate. Its market value is upward of Rs 1 crore,” an official said.
After construction, the place would be sublet to another government body. For instance, the hall could house a PDS (ration) shop,” the official said. Corporation officials admit that encroachments are a big problem. Irrespective of the size of the land, encroachers grab the property. Officials attribute poor record keeping in the past as one of the major reasons why the civic body is struggling to relocate land it previously owned but lost to encroachers along the way.
“The corporation has lost plenty of landed property in the years gone by. Of late, the administration is taking concerted efforts to reclaim land, most of which are prime real estate,” said a senior official.
“No one really knows exactly how much public land has been encroached upon in the city because the local bodies here have never maintained records,” the official said. In October 2014, Mayor Saidai S. Duraisamy had stated that the civic body managed to reclaim Rs 4247 crore worth of land since 2011. This included a 10-acre plot that was in illegal possession of a private school at Kotturpuram.
Metro water tries to rectify sewer line:
The CMWSSB is racing against time to attend to a punctured sewer main line at the heart of Nanganallur. The workers have blocked out the left side lane on Nanganallur First Main Road for about 30 metres as a sewer main line running underneath broke, leaking raw sewage.
Workers said the problem was noticed after a portion of the road caved in late on Monday. “We immediately cordoned off the area but could not start work until permission was obtained.”
Nearly 25 feet of earth had been dug with workers slogging throughout the day to complete the work. “If not for the caving in, the issue would not have come to our notice. If the line is not replaced quickly, then Nanganallur area could witness large scale sewage block,” a worker said.
Metro water officials told DC that the sewer line was old and that it needed replacement. “We are taking action. We will need 10 days to set right the problem.” However, traffic is likely to be affected on the First Main Road, which connects Nanganallur with Vanuvampet and the arterial Medavakkam Main Road besides the Inner Ring Road at Adambakkam. Motorists trying to access Medavakkam Main Road will now have to take the Sixth Main Road or take a detour via Second Main Road and re-join at the tail end of First Main Road.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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