The issue regarding the apartment complex Mint Homes Pvt. Ltd. is constructing in Sowripalayam refuses to die down.Only a few months ago, the Coimbatore Corporation issued notices and subsequently sealed a club house and other structures there.
Now K. Ramasubramanian, an AIADMK member, has written to the Chief Minister Jayalalithaa asking for action against the promoter Raj. Natarajan, demolishing those buildings or portions of buildings that stood in deviation of the approved plan and also action against the Coimbatore Corporation officials, who, he alleged were in connivance with the builder.
Mr. Ramasubramanian’s case is that the Corporation officials did not take necessary action but only sealed a few buildings after he had established with the help of documents obtained through the Right to Information Act that Mint Homes Pvt. Ltd. had constructed a 272 sq.m. ground-plus first floor structure to be used as club house, a water treatment plant spread over 75 sq.m. and a swimming pool measuring 72 sq.m. on the land it had handed over to the Coimbatore Corporation as open space reserve.
Through the documents, he said he had also established that the company had not stuck to the approved plan but had reduced the area of parking space, brought down the space between two apartment blocks, violated the floor space index among other things.
There was no emergency exit, either, he said and went on to add that the construction continued for two years even after the three-year period for construction expired.
Though the Corporation officials were well aware of the facts of the case they chose not to act and their inaction had caused a loss of Rs. 5 crore to the civic body as the company had encroached upon the land worth the money.
Sources in the Coimbatore Corporation said that as soon as the civic body was aware of the issue, it did initiate action after ascertaining that the builder had not constructed as per the approved plan.
Meanwhile, P. Murugan, Project Manager, Mint Homes Pvt. Ltd., said that the Corporation’s action was unwarranted because the company had stuck to the approved plan.
It had in fact gifted 17 cents to the civic body when it was required to gift only 10 cents as open space reserve. And in gifting the 17 cents it had laid down conditions saying that it would construct club house and other structures on a non-commercial basis.
He said that the company planned to move the Madras High Court to get the buildings unsealed. He also dismissed other allegations.
