CHENNAI, AUG 18
The Madras High Court has slammed a ruling DMK MLA from the city for constructing a public hall on a piece of government land in the area and ordered for its immediate demolition.
“’Prima facie, it appears to be an act of extreme anarchy. No law-maker can take the law into his own hands and put up a construction on government land, however pious the intention may be, because the relevant government department has not put up a construction according to his demand,” the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice P D Audikesavalu said on Tuesday.
It directed the Commissioner of Greater Chennai Corporation to take immediate appropriate action in accordance with law to demolish the construction and not permit the same to be used for any purpose whatsoever. The Commissioner will report to this court when the matter appears next, a week hence, the bench said.
In his PIL, D Vijayabharathy of Palavakkam here had alleged that the local MLA, S Aravindramesh, was putting up the illegal construction in Sholinganallur. In this connection, he had sent a representation on July 9 this year to the Corporation and the Public Works department to stop any further construction and to remove the unauthorised construction. But there was no response, the petitioner contended.
Passing orders, the bench observed that the combined excuses offered by the authorities concerned all around are completely ‘unacceptable.’ It appears that the local MLA had requested for the construction of the public meeting hall in the premises of the existing MLA office building. As the PWD did not heed to his request, he took it upon himself to have the hall constructed, it noted.
