The Madras High Court on Monday directed the Coastal Zone Management Authority (CZMA) to submit by Wednesday details of the number of bungalows and other buildings constructed in the high tide zone, intertidal zone and no development zone along the Bay of Bengal on East Coast Road (ECR) here.
Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and R. Hemalatha said since they had ordered demolition of one of the bungalows on a stretch last week, known as Olive Island, in Muttukadu Taluk on ECR for having been constructed on the no development zone, they wanted to know details of other such illegal constructions too.
The judges directed Special Government Pleader E. Manoharan to produce the details of the unauthorised constructions along with photographs as well as Google maps to pinpoint their exact location since the building they had ordered to be demolished appeared to be almost inside the Bay of Bengal. The direction was issued during the hearing of a batch of cases related to unauthorised constructions on the beach front in ECR.
Amicus Curiae T. Mohan told the court that 728 building owners were issued notices after a joint inspection by Greater Chennai Corporation and Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority a couple of years ago.
Out of them, only around 450 approached the court to explain their standpoint. Since the rest had not bothered to approach the court, the Corporation should have gone ahead and demolished all those buildings after following the due process of law under the relevant statutes, Mr. Mohan said.
Concurring with him, the senior judge in the Bench wondered why the Corporation had not acted against the violators of Coastal Regulatory Zone regulations.
“Do you need court orders even to perform your duties. Why do you always want to shoot from our shoulders? Why don’t you act,” he asked the Corporation counsel.
Earlier in the day, the judges took up for admission a new case filed by J. Sundar, a resident of Kovalam, to demolish the constructions being put up by BMR Industries Private Limited in Muttukadu.
Mr. Manoharan told the court that the CZMA officials had already inspected the premises, reportedly used as a hatchery, and their report was awaited.
After noting down his submissions, the judges directed the SGP to report by February 6 the status of the constructions and whether it was being constructed illegally in a prohibited zone.
