The government appointed an enquiry commission as the Kodanad estate management had violated building norms and not obtained the mandatory ‘no objection certificate' from the departments concerned for taking up construction on its premises, said Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi.
Reacting to AIADMK general secretary Jayalalithaa's statement that the construction work to refurbish a 142-year old structure was well within law and had all sanctions, Mr. Karunanidhi said the Kodanad panchayat president, who had initially agreed to the construction of four additional buildings for a tea factory, subsequently cancelled his order after realising that the estate management was constructing a single building spread over 500 sq.mt. and that the new construction was taken up without obtaining ‘no objection certificates' from the departments of forests, mining and agricultural engineering.
The Kodanad estate management had submitted four applications for construction for the tea factory for which the panchayat president granted approval for four buildings last July and August.
“It is puzzling why a single application was not submitted,” Mr. Karunanidhi said.
After inspection of the panchayat records last November, the Kotagiri Block Development Officer (BDO) wrote to the Kodanad panchayat president stating that he had no right to grant approval for buildings which had not obtained no objection certificates and asked him to cancel the permit order and stop construction activities inside the estate.
Acting on the letter, the Kodanad panchayat president wrote to the estate manager on November 24, 2009, demanding that he be allowed to inspect the constructions. Two days later, he wrote another letter stating that he could cancel the permit as the estate had used approvals for four buildings to construct a single building, adjoining the old factory. “The estate management refused to accept the letters sent in registered post and returned them,” Mr. Karunanidhi said.
Approvals cancelled
On December 22, 2009, the Kodanad panchayat president cancelled the four approvals granted by him and even this order sent through registered post was not accepted by the estate management.
On Siruthavur bungalow, Mr. Karunanidhi said the Sivasubramaniam Commission report had stated that Barani resorts owned by V.N. Sudhakaran, Izhavarasi and Chitra had acquired 53 acres granted to Dalits by the government.
“Are the owners of the resorts close relatives of Ms. Jayalalithaa's friend Sasikala or not?” Mr. Karunanidhi asked.
