Residents want housing society to vacate premises on reserved site in Coimabatore

A site reserved for playground in T. Nagar in Ward 67 in Ramanathapuram does not appear to be one in every sense of the term.

Four boys are trying to make best use of the available space for a game of cricket. But then they are unable to have a decent game as on the western side of the 20-cent plot, they have the six-room building housing the Ramanathapuram Cooperative House Building Society office, studio, dance school and printing press.

On the southern side is the junk the Society has dumped – wooden poles, broken play materials and other waste. On the eastern side are a few cars and trees.

The site, which ought to be a playground, has been under occupation ever since the Society developed layouts and promoted the area in 1977. The T. Nagar layout, which has the Ramanathapuram Cooperative House Building Society seal and stamp, and was submitted to the Directorate of Town and Country Planning clearly says that the plot, a reserve site, is meant to be children’s play area. The Society developed 54 sites, spread over five streets.

To throw open the premises for the children of the area for sports, the Ramanathapuram T. Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association has been fighting hard by petitioning the authorities concerned.

Even as it was making efforts, the Society has decided to construct buildings in the space available on the reserve site.

The Society sources say the plan is to construct a building to house public distribution system shops.

This has angered the residents, who have appealed to Coimbatore Corporation Commissioner G. Latha to initiate action to take over the land, which is a ‘reserve site’.

Led by president C.S. Krishnan and secretary A. Ayyaswamy, the Association has said that it wanted the Corporation to remove the encroachments on the land and restore it as playground.

The Association has also said that the Society first constructed the building saying it was constructing a community hall for the residents of the area. It then said it was building a school and now it has occupied a portion of the building and let out on rent three rooms.

It wants the Society to vacate the premises and also give up plans to take up further construction.

The Society sources say that the resolution when tabled met with objection from a few members, who pointed out that the place was a site earmarked as playground.

Society president P. Muruganandam says that the cooperative organisation did table the resolution but has decided to withdraw the same as it did not have the funds to construct buildings.

He, however, was silent on the question of illegal occupation of the reserve site.