Chennai: A retired professor in Urban Engineering, Anna University has approached the Madras high court to quash a government order, which proposed to expand the Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area to 8,878 sq kms.
The First Bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose, before whom the PIL filed by K.P.Subramanian came up for hearing on Friday, adjourned it to March 19, after government advocate sought time to get instructions in the matter.
Petitioner’s counsel K.Selvaraj submitted that by a G.O dated January 22, 2018, the government has proposed to expand the Chennai Metropolitan Planning Area to 8,878 sq km, which was seven times larger than the present Chennai Metropolitan Area namely, 1,189 sq km.
When the CMDA was unable to perform its statutory duties and enforce the provisions of Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act for the existing Chennai Metropolitan Area of 1,189 sq km, it was highly impossible for the CMDA to perform its duties for the proposed 8,878 sq km of Chennai Metropolitan Area, he added.
Selvaraj said if the Chennai Metropolitan Area was expanded to 8,878 sq km, then the CMDA, which does not have manpower or infrastructural facilities and institutional network spread over the entire Chennai Metropolitan Area, it would not be in a position to enforce the provisions of the Act even for the City of Chennai. In that case, they cannot even go to contiguous areas for enforcement. As on today, this court was flooded with several litigations for building violations, unauthorised constructions etc., because of want of manpower and lack of institutional network spread over the Chennai Metropolitan Area of the CMDA, he added.
He said the notification called for objections only from the inhabitants of the proposed contiguous areas alone.
This was totally against the object of the Act and against the interest of the inhabitants of the existing city of Chennai and the existing Chennai Metropolitan Area. The proposed expansion of Chennai Metropolitan Area would greatly affect the quality of life and the standard of living of the inhabitants of the existing Chennai Metropolitan Area, for, the CMDA has to expend the time and resources at their disposal to an area seven times larger than the existing Chennai Metropolitan Area. Moreover, the proposed expansion was silent on the objective of such an expansion. It was also in total violation of the principles of natural justice. It has not given any opportunity to the inhabitants of the City of Chennai or to the existing Chennai Metropolitan Area, to make any objection or representation for the proposed expansion, Selvaraj added.
