The Hindu : Front Page : Residents struggling for more than 20 years

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Sunday, Dec 31, 2006
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Residents struggling for more than 20 years

Mohamed Imranullah S.

To get sale deeds from the Tamil Nadu Housing Board

UNCERTAINTY: A view of the Housing Board Colony at Ellis Nagar in Madurai. — Photo: G. Moorthy

MADURAI: The residents of Ellis Nagar Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) Colony here have been struggling for more than two decades to get the sale deeds executed in their favour. Despite obtaining favourable orders from the Madras High Court in October this year, these people are living under a threat of the Government going on appeal against the judgement. They have urged the Housing Minister to implement the HC order without further delay.

It all began in 1979 when the TNHB acquired 108 acres for the housing scheme. Even as landowners continued to challenge the award amount before the District Court, the HC and then the SC, the officials constructed a total of 2,614 row type houses and flats for different income groups. They were allotted to various individuals from 1983.

The allottees entered into an agreement with TNHB that only the cost of construction was firm whereas the cost of the land was tentative.

The Supreme Court gave its final verdict in the land acquisition case in April 1992 and the final cost per ground (2,400 sq.ft.) was determined at Rs.6,87,700 in 1993-94. The exorbitant final cost had to face several rounds of litigations until the TNHB in 2002 brought it down to Rs.3,49,100 per ground.

The residents pursued the litigation and a Division Bench of the HC on Oct. 16 directed that the capitalisation charges be determined from the date when the house was made ready for occupation till the date of allotment for occupation. The interest on such amount should be levied only from May 21, 2004, the court said saving the residents an additional burden of nearly Rs.20 crore.

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