Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai   

A new-found haven for encroachers

By Karthik Subramanian

CHENNAI OCT. 22 . At Rs. 40,000, the 20' x 30' plot on the Cooum riverbed was a bargain for Kuppan (name changed). The mason, who earns up to Rs. 200 on a good day, invested a lifetime's earnings in purchasing the plot. He constructed a concrete house with thatched roof.

Electricity connection was `fixed' at a flat rate of Rs. 5,000 with some of the local TNEB officials. "It is taken from the main line. But when it gets erratic, we can connect it to the lamppost." Water is not much of a bother, since Metrowater undertakes lorry trips and piped supply is available in nearby areas. Only the sewer line has been linked directly to the river that flows by.

Kuppan is one of the many new residents to the colony that is mushrooming by the day along the banks of Cooum in Arumbakkam. The region adjoining Ponnamallee High Road has become a hot spot for encroachments. Some of the huts have in fact come up right on the middle of the riverbed, which can be easily seen across the bridge connecting Naduvankarai and Poonamallee High Road.

Ironically, it is the same river that is the focus of a Rs. 720-crore project that has an object to `abate pollution and clean the city's waterways'.

On the other bank, Metrowater has laid massive sewer pipes on the Seventh Main Road of Anna Nagar under the Chennai City River Conservation Project (CCRCP). According to Metrowater officials, the project cost on that stretch alone would be to the tune of Rs. 2 crores.

The direct release of sewage into the Cooum not only defeats the purpose of the CCRCP but also proves a health hazard for several families living in the housing board tenements on Seventh Main Road. "The risks posed by the Cooum have made this part of Anna Nagar a notorious place to live in. Several tenants have already vacated their houses," a resident says.

Residents point out that some local goondas, claiming allegiance to political parties, are behind the mushrooming of riverside slums. Kuppan refers to one `Baiamma' as being the guardian of the poromboke lands along the river. "Anyone who wants to settle down here must take her permission. She conducts a `katta panchayat' and informs all the residents the arrival of a new tenant," he says recalling his own arrival a year ago.

Once the customer has paid the price for the plot, debris is brought to the area by nightfall. That is when the filling up of the riverbed takes place. Here too, local political volunteers extend `support' at a price.

How the systematic encroachment failed to capture the attention of the Government remains a mystery. It also brings to focus the skewed functioning of departments like the PWD and the Chennai Corporation — on the one hand vacating the huts along Buckingham canal and removing encroachments on footpaths even while turning a blind eye to new encroachments.

Several shops have come up in the area adjoining the slum board flats on New Avadi Road. Some of the residents point a finger at the local councillor, Mangai Arasi (ward 55), as being responsible for the encroachments. The councillor herself admitted that she was aware of some persons trying to encroach upon the land to set up shops.

"During investigation, I came to know that some persons who had taken over the land did not have valid papers. But they insisted that they would not begin construction till they received permission," she says, denying any other links with the encroachments.

Similar encroachments have also been witnessed along the Tamil Nadu Housing Board area in Sathyamurthy Nagar near K.K.Nagar.

The Madras High Court, meanwhile, has always been prompt in directing the Corporation and other government departments to remove encroachments as a `statutory duty'. Recently, while passing orders on a case relating to illegal occupation of Corporation land on Basin Bridge Road, the Chief Justice, B. Subhashan Reddy, and Justice K. Govindarajan observed that no encroacher is entitled to indulgence from the court and authorities are obliged to remove encroachers.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

News: Front Page | National | Southern States | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary |

Stories in this Section

• A new-found haven for encroachers
• Police chief to hear grievances
• A six-day wait for postmortem
• Cholesterol cut-off level below Western average
• Accidents rising, yet no caution against footboard travel
• Hacked to death
• `Improvement in infrastructure must to attract investors'

Copyright © 2002, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu