The Madras High Court on Thursday expressed its strong displeasure over the functioning of Greater Chennai Corporation and said, very little action appeared to have been taken against unauthorised constructions in the city and to maintain public places, including the beaches in the city, neat and clean.
Second Division Bench of Justices Vineet Kothari and Anita Sumanth said, the Marina beach in the city was full of filth and dirt though the municipal corporation headquarters was hardly five kilometres away from the location. The senior judge said, he was thoroughly disappointed to see the dirt in the beach.
“For the last four or five days (ever since he got transferred from Karnataka), I’ve been seeing what kind of work you do. See the Marina beach, what kind of dirt is there though it is right close to the Corporation building. Is this why Corporation is there? We are not here to run the corporations and the government,” he said.
The senior judge was quick to add that the role of the court would begin when the State fails to act and end at the moment when the latter begins to act. Sending a stern message to all government departments and local bodies, he said, the highest officers in those departments and wings should file affidavits in reply to PIL petitions. His Bench expressed dissatisfaction over a status report filed by Corporation Commissioner D. Karthikeyan in reply to a PIL petition. Activist ‘Traffic’ K.R. Ramaswamy had filed the case accusing the local body of not demolishing the remains of a multi-storey building that caught fire at Vadapalani here in May last leading to loss of four lives.
Stating that the status report was bereft of particulars, Mr. Justice Kothari asked, “What is the purpose in filing a strange report like this? You keep every thing thing within yourself. Nothing is disclosed to the court. The report says compensation was paid to deceased persons too. How can it be paid to deceased persons? It can be paid only to their families.”
Taking note of the presence of the Commissioner, the judges said, the purpose was to awaken them to the public issues and the need to act fast. “You don’t take action against unauthorised constructions but when the court takes note, you want to demolish all buildings around you. What is this?” he wondered. Later, the judges granted one final opportunity to the Commissioner to file a better affidavit with complete details of the action taken and the compensation paid.
