Corpn. may acquire land during disasters

Officials suggest invoking Section 40 of the Land Acquisition Act to meet emergencies

The Chennai Corporation and the district administration may identify private properties located in vulnerable areas when disaster strikes to undertake relief measures under statutory provisions of the Land Acquisition Act. This would enable the civic body to acquire land belonging to individuals, if required for handling the emergency.

At a meeting of line agencies on disaster preparedness at Ripon Buildings on Tuesday, senior officials made a suggestion to invoke Section 40 of the Land Acquisition Act during any disaster event in Chennai.

Special powers

“Section 40 gives special powers to the District Collector in case of urgency to acquire land for any emergency arising out of natural calamities,” said an official who participated in the meeting.

Pointing to the delay in implementation of civic infrastructure projects in many parts of the city because of inadequate land, the official said acquisition of a few private properties may save the entire neighbourhood from disaster.

“The Chennai Corporation should identify vulnerable areas. Properties required for disaster mitigation will be identified in such areas. A meeting will be held on September 26 to assess the condition of vulnerable areas. Any decision on acquisition of private property will be supported by a Government Order,” said the official.

During the floods in 2015, many residents had demanded civic infrastructure projects such as canals, drains and culverts to mitigate disaster. But the government has been unable to initiate any measures because of challenges in finding land for the purpose.

T. Nagar resident V. Jayaraman said the officials may have to do such land acquisition in areas developed adjacent to waterbodies in the city.

Drain projects have also been shelved in many parts of the city because of the difficulty in identifying land for the purpose.

In addition to the Land Acquisition Act, officials stressed on the need for invoking the provisions of the Disaster Management Act to take possession of private buildings such as marriage halls during disaster events.

Private buildings

“The city does not have an adequate number of public buildings to offer relief for residents during disaster. So civic agencies are exploring options of taking possession of private buildings for setting up relief camps for people in vulnerable areas,” said an official.

Chennai Corporation Commissioner D.Karthikeyan said officials from all line agencies participated in the meeting to assess monsoon preparedness. The civic body will begin work on developing missing links in stormwater drains in 469 locations from Wednesday.