Residents of Uthandi say open space reservation (OSR) land in their locality is being encroached upon, and have been fighting to retrieve the government property since 2017.
Members of the Society of Liberals Valuing Environment (SOLVE), a residents’ welfare society in Uthandi, noted that a compound wall is now being built around the three-acre space meant to be OSR land in Dr. Sivaswami Salai. This could be used for common purposes like community hall, park or library. They recalled that the land was reserved for public purposes when it was developed four decades ago.
Prabhu Nambiappan, president of SOLVE, said, “We had formed the society in the area with the main aim of protecting the OSR land from land-grabbers and encroachments. The Greater Chennai Corporation had installed a board warning of action against trespassers. But it was removed, twice.”
The residents’ society had also filed complaints with the Kanathur police and GCC regarding the issue. “We had also protested against the encroachments last year. We demanded that the encroached land be retrieved,” he said. Residents now plan to file a public interest litigation on the issue.
They also raised concerns about beach space being encroached upon in the locality. S. Kesavaram, a resident of Uthandi, said the beach space near the Second Main Road had been encroached upon by vendors without permission from the GCC.
Alleging that residential areas were becoming unsafe due to illegal activities, the residents wanted measures to prevent such commercial use of beach space.
Officials of the GCC said they will verify the gift deed and land records along with their counterparts in the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority and take appropriate action to retrieve OSR land.
