The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed Sankarankovil Municipality in Tenkasi district to inspect and remove encroachments under its jurisdiction.
It is the statutory duty of the local body to ensure that the area was free from encroachments. If action was not initiated by the authorities, then the court could presume that there was some agenda for not taking action, a Division Bench of Justices T.S. Sivagnanam and S. Ananthi observed.
The court was hearing a petition filed by V.S. Veeraputhran of Sankarankoil.
The petitioner said there were encroachments on Railway Feeder Road in Sankarankoil and authorities should take action to remove them.
Perusing the photographs submitted, the judges observed that prima facie the images showed petty shops on the pathway and on a water channel and wondered why the municipality had not taken any action.
If the petty shops were selling eatables, it would lead to spread of disease as the area appeared to be unhygienic. Therefore, the municipal authorities should conduct an inspection and remove the temporary stalls or shops forthwit, they said.
The petition was disposed of with the direction.
