The Corporation on Tuesday reclaimed government land under encroachment, including property linked to Union Minister M.K. Alagiri.
Corporation officials retrieved 16.5 cents of government land, including 8 cents allegedly encroached upon by Union Minister M.K. Alagiri’s family-owned Dhaya Cyber Park, near Mattuthavani Integrated Bus Stand.
The eviction drive comes 17 months after then Collector U. Sahayam revealed that 8 cents of ‘vandi pathai poromboke’ were in the possession of the cyber park on the 120-Feet-Road in Sambakulam. Corporation Commissioner R. Nanthagopal led the eviction operation. “We took time to sort out the records before swinging into action,” the Commissioner said and added that the retrieved land would be fenced to prevent further encroachment.
Two earthmovers were deployed in the exercise. Police were present in anticipation of trouble from Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam cadre. However, no party workers turned up. A compound wall was demolished, trees uprooted and a lawn along with ornamental plants destroyed. The encroached land had been converted into a garden.
Elsewhere, the Corporation team razed buildings put up by an information technology company on 11.5 cents of encroached land.
A further 5.5 cents of vacant land skirted by a compound wall were also reclaimed. A boundary wall around 1.5 cents of government land was pulled down.
In all, five plots falling under poromboke land were reclaimed.
Dhaya Cyber Park has been in the spotlight ever since power changed hands in the State in 2011. In October that year, Mr. Sahayam had sought clarification from then Corporation Commissioner S. Natarajan over the eight cents of land used by Dhaya Cyber Park. In November, notice was issued to the cyber park. No reply was received, an official said.
Subsequently, a board was put up in front of the cyber park claiming that the 8 cents of land belonged to the Corporation. During one of the council meetings, Mayor V.V. Rajan Chellappa said that he was contemplating police action against Dhaya Cyber Park for land grabbing. However, DMK functionaries produced a document claiming that the Corporation had handed over the land for setting up a garden in 2006. But the Mayor said that the Corporation had no records to support the DMK’s claim. In the interregnum, two AIADMK zone chairpersons raised the issue, charging the Mayor with inaction.
Corporation City Engineer A. Mathuram and Chief Town Planning Officer M. Rakkappan oversaw the eviction drive.
