A 16,218 sq. ft. bungalow, constructed so close to the Bay of Bengal that large boulders had to be placed around it to prevent the waves from hitting it, was demolished by its owner on Saturday in compliance with a directive issued by the Madras High Court on January 21.
The bungalow, used as a guest house by Rajsriya Automotive Industries Private Limited, at Olive Island in Muttukadu Taluk on East Coast Road, was razed to the ground using bulldozers since it fell in the intertidal no-development zone classified as Coastal Regulatory Zone III.
On Friday, the counsel for the automotive company made a mention before a Division Bench of Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and R. Hemalatha and said it had decided to demolish the building on its own without the involvement of the government authorities as directed by the court.
However, Special Government Pleader E. Manoharan insisted that any demolition must take place in the presence of the officials from Chengalpattu District Coastal Zone Management Authority.
The court was also told that the DCZMA had conducted a meeting on Thursday regarding implementation of the court order and issued a notice to P.S. Govindachari, the managing director of the private company, informing him about the decision taken to demolish the building on February 25.
Accepting his submission, the judges told the counsel that it was up to the petitioner to approach the officials concerned and obtain permission for self-demolition. They made it clear that the court’s intention was only to see that illegal structures do not remain. The senior judge in the Bench pointed out that no illegal building on the ECR, from Neelankarai to Mahabalipuram, would be able to escape the axe after the SC judgment that led to demolition of high-rises at Maradu in Kerala.
