More than Rs 100 crore CMDA property encroached

C Shivakumar

Chennai;

More than Rs 100 crore worth CMDA property is allegedly encroached and the planning body is struggling to identify and retrieve the land in nine villages near GST Road.
Sources said CMDA is struggling to get back the land to an extent of 178.87 acres, which was acquired to develop satellite town at Marimalai Nagar in 1972 to regulate population growth of city as suggested by the First Master Plan. Interestingly, now CMDA is facing legal battle to get back these land.
Sources says the value of the land could be more than Rs 100 crore in the real estate market and blame the lack of estate management for encroachment of the property.
Sources said the government decided to take up the development of New Town at Marimalai Nagar near Chengalpet on 1972 for development and acquired 1,852 acres of land in nine villages of Potheri, Katankulathur, Kilakaranai, Ninnakkarai, Chithamanur, Gudalur, Sengundram, Thirukatchur and Peramanur.
Interestingly, 1572 acres were developed for residential, industrial and other purposes in the form of 14 residential neighbourhoods and five industrial areas. However, the remaining lands lay scattered covered under court cases and some under encroachment.
Sources said the real issue is lack of proper management of CMDA property by estate officers, whose offices are located at CMDA headquarters.

“How could a estate officer for Marimalai Nagar could monitor CMDA property sitting in the headquarters,” reasoned a former CMDA official. Interestingly, it was in 2010 an effort was made to collect some data on the encroached property but then the government property is still in alien hands.

And what is more, CMDA is developing a separate layout to allot plots for 36 allottees, whose land have been encroached by ex-owners and encroachers in Marimalai Nagar. Surprisingly, in 2010, CMDA had began a drive to clear encroachments in its 37 acres of land acquired more than three decades ago in Keelakaranai village in Marimalainagar. But after the encroachments were cleared under heavy security, the land is now again being encroached upon due to lack of proper estate management.

With the state government planning massive infrastructure projects under Vision 2023, the pressure will be on CMDA to recover the encroached land.