Chennai: Activists and members of residents’ welfare association have termed the recent notification by the housing department to regularise illegal buildings as ridiculous. It fails on the grounds of logic and natural justice. If the state has decided to regularise illegal buildings, then why run a department vested with powers to frame rules and enforce the building rules, ask civic activists. If the trend of allowing regularisation continues, T Nagar and other commercial areas in Chennai will become hubs for regulated illegal buildings.
There are hundreds of illegal buildings in Choolai, Sowcarpet and Vepery with major and minor violations. And now the government has planned to regularise the buildings constructed prior to 2007. This move is seen as a big joke by those who have abided by town planning rules all these years, said T Solomon, who has filed many PILs on illegal buildings in Vepery. For instance, in Egmore constituency, a lot of house owners residing in narrow roads restricted their houses with just two floors as they were denied permission by the Chennai Corporation and CMDA to construct additional floors. Yet, whoever has violated norms by constructing additional floors will now pay fines and enjoy the occupation or rent from illegal structures, he said.
In a statement, the T Na-gar residents’ welfare association (TRWA) termed the notification a shame on the housing department and Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority. “Having made such a justification, the department does not have locus standi to continue to function and it must be closed down”, sa-id B.Kannan, secretary, TRWA.Several questions ari-se, says Mr Kannan. Who is responsible for such a huge number of illegal buildings in Chennai? Have there ever been regular inspections by officials vested with powers? Why was illegal building construction not stopped by the civic authorities? What action is the state going to take against the erring officials who failed to act on illegal buildings? The loss of livelihood and lack of commercial space are cited as reasons for violations. Does it mean one can flout every single rule in the statute citing livelihood as an issue, Kannan wonders.
