Encroachment in Kodungaiyur removed after 40 years by Chennai Corporation

“The ownership of the road was verified with the Tahsildar, and it was confirmed that it belonged to the Corporation.”

Greater Chennai Corporation had demolished a compound wall, which was an encroachment for 40 years in Ganapathy Street, Krishnamoorthy Nagar in Kodungaiyur on May 21, an engineer said. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The Greater Chennai Corporation cleared a compound wall that was encroaching the entrance of the road in Ganapathy Street Krishnamoorthy Nagar in KodungaIyur under Ward 37, Zone 4 after 40 years since it was erected by a private party, according to zonal officials.

N.S. Ramachandra Rao, 88, president of the Ever Vigilant Citizens Welfare Association and a resident of the area claimed a private party had bought plots on either side of the pathway in the 1970s and had raised a compound wall in 1984, even after objections from locals, claiming private party owned the road also. “He claimed the road also belonged to him. We repeatedly petitioned the local authorities to look into the issue. Last year, we took up the matter with the GCC and Commissioner J. Radhakrishnan who visited the area.”

Executive Engineer G. Radhakrishnan said, “The ownership of the road was verified with the Tahsildar, and it was confirmed that it belonged to the Corporation. Following this, a case in the Madras High Court regarding this issue was ongoing and on September 11, 2023, a court ruled in favour of the GCC. On May 21, after consulting the legal officers with the civic body, the wall was removed with the assistance of the Greater Chennai City Police.”

“The private party did object to the move, but did not have valid documents to prove that the road belonged to him, as he had claimed. A proposal under the Nagarpura Salai Membattu Thittam has been put forth to lay a proper road in the 35-metre long and 8-m wide pathway now open to the public,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mr. Rao claimed that the private party was making arrangements to reconstruct the wall and that he had dumped debris on one side to block people from entering. “A letter in this regard will be sent to the Commissioner soon,” he stated.

The engineer said, “The debris has been partially cleared to make way and will be completely removed soon. The private party has been instructed not to engage in any activity on the road. If this instruction is violated, a police complaint will be filed against those responsible.”