The Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the State government and the Greater Chennai Corporation to evict all 1,267 families that had encroached the banks of the Cooum flowing through the city and relocate them at alternative accommodation built by the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) at Perumbakkam and other places.
Justice S. Vaidyanathan issued the direction while passing identical orders on individual writ petitions filed by two persons — K. Nancy and A. Rajkumar— with a plea to restrain the Corporation from evicting them from the slum area at Karunanidhi Nagar, now known as Thideer Nagar on Greams Road.
Recording the submission of Advocate General Vijay Narayan that arrangements shall be made by government officials to get the encroachers’ children admitted to schools close to the places they would be relocated to, the judge ordered that the encroachers be evicted forthwith without any loss of time.
He took into consideration the submissions made on behalf of the Corporation that out of 1,267 families that had illegally encroached upon the banks of Cooum, 603 were at Thideer Nagar and all of them face the risk of being affected during floods. It was also submitted that the encroachers could not claim a right to squat over the banks of a river.
“Keeping in mind the unhygienic atmosphere prevailing in the slums located on the Cooum river bed which poses several health hazards to the people residing there, this court is of the view that apart from evicting the petitioner herein, the respondents shall ensure eviction of all the encroachers on the Cooum river bed.
“Possession of ration card, Voter ID and Aadhar card cannot be a ground for the encroachers to claim continuance of living on the Cooum river bed,” the judge said, warning those who get allotment of houses at alternative sites but continue to live on the banks of the river after sub-letting the TNSCB tenements.
“This court makes it clear that in case the writ petitioner (Mr. Rajkumar) is found renting or leasing out the tenement/alternative accommodation to a third person, he shall be deemed to have been immediately evicted and the Slum Clearance Board shall allot the tenement to other allottee.
“To ascertain whether the allottee is residing in the alternative place or not, the authorities shall conduct a surprise inspection and ask for the details about the person residing there. If the allotted person or his family is not residing there, the allottee shall not be shown any indulgence or mercy,” he added.
Another case
Disposing of another writ petition filed jointly by 60 individuals to restrain the government and the Corporation from evicting them from Konnur High Road slum at Otteri here, the judge ordered that all the encroachers be evicted forthwith and accommodated in alternative sites identified by the TNSCB.
To prevent allottees of TNSCB tenements from either leasing or renting out the allotted houses to third parties, the judge issued a general direction that “whenever the TNSCB allots tenements to anyone, the photographs of the allottees and other residents shall be displayed in the residence.
“The officials can be authorised to conduct surprise inspections and take photographs/videograph of the persons who are residing in the tenements... In case, the allottees are found renting or leasing out the tenements to third persons, they shall be immediately evicted and the Board shall allot such tenements to other allottees.
“Every year in May, the allottees shall inform the Board about the details of the residents and the relationship with the allottees, failing which, action can be initiated to evict the allottees residing in the tenements. If the statement given by the allottee is found to be false, the allotment shall stand cancelled automatically,” the judge ordered.
