The Public Works Department is constructing a compound wall to protect a portion of land belonging to the Tamil Nadu Dr. Ambedkar Law University in Taramani from being encroached.
Located on the perimeter of the Kallukuttai settlement, the land has become a natural waterbody with rainwater draining into it. The Greater Chennai Corporation has constructed stormwater drain along the Station Service Road on both sides from Taramani to Velachery railway stations to allow water flow into the Pallikaranai marshland.
A senior official said the department took up construction of a compound wall based on a request from the university about a month ago and the work would be completed in two months.
Additional land
Sources in the university said the State government had given 15 acres of land on which the institution along with hostels and other facilities have been functioning. In a second parcel, the government allotted another 10 acres adjacent to the present location, but people started encroaching on a portion of the land in 2014.
“Initially, we requested the slum clearance board to allot alternative housing allotment to those who encroached the land but nothing came of it. Around one acre of the 10 acres allotted has been encroached upon. We have now decided to build a compound wall at least to protect the remaining portion of the land, while leaving the encroached part,” said an official of the university.
The State government, through the Revenue authorities, should take steps to protect the vacant land which has become a natural waterbody located on the other side of the elevated tracks of the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) which was being slowly encroached upon, local activists said.
