An attempt by land grabbers to take over a patch of prime property, a government asset, and convert it into housing plots was thwarted by revenue department officials in Sithalapakkam village panchayat near Tambaram on Monday morning.
Officials at the Sholinganallur taluk office said that overnight on Sunday, unknown men had placed stone posts on a barren piece of land near Karumariamman Nagar. The land was spread over 75 cents (0.75 acres).
Following information from residents and the village administrative officer, officials from the taluk office went to the spot on Monday morning and removed the stone posts.
They also placed a board indicating that the land was a government asset and that attempts to grab it would be dealt with severely. The land is classified as ‘meikaal poramboke’ – grazing lands categorised as unassessed waste land.
The revenue department is yet to approach the police as they are not aware of the identity of group that is behind the attempted land grab. However, revenue department officials suspect a group from Velachery.
The guideline value of the 75 cents of land is around Rs. 6 crore, while the market value is estimated to be anywhere between Rs. 10 and Rs. 12 crore.
With property prices shooting through the roof in the city’s southern suburbs, especially in places close to Rajiv Gandhi Salai, there are a number of groups actively involved in attempting to take over poramboke land, water bodies and water channels, the staff pointed out.
They also recalled that during similar drives against attempts at encroaching government land in Sholinganallur and Injambakkam, a few people were arrested and highly valued property reclaimed.
In Tambaram revenue division alone, there are several thousand unauthorised structures, including on lakes and tanks, officials added.
