Madras HC to decide on fate of monitoring committee next year

C Shivakumar
Chennai:

The Action Taken Report by Monitoring committee will now be submitted
next year after Madras
High Court on Tuesday adjourned the hearing for four weeks.

The Action Taken Report is being filed by monitoring committee after
Madras high court, hearing a petition filed by non official member of
monitoring committee M G Devasahayam, ordered for a detailed summary
of what happened till now in pursuance of the directions passed by the
High court in 2006 to stem the problem of unauthorised constructions.

The monitoring committee is also seeking its relevance under the state
government’s new regularization scheme which legalizes illegal
buildings built before 2007.

It is learnt that the action taken report will be based on the 15
action paras stipulated by Madras High court in its order on August
23, 2006 which made the monitoring committee relevant.

It is learnt that despite numerous suggestions by monitoring
committee, which was appointed by Madras High Court, only one
recommendation regarding the completion certificate was implemented.

But the remaining recommendations never saw the light of the day. The
high court ordering monitoring committee to act on multi-storeyed
commercial complexes which are more than four floors in height so that
necessary modifications could be done for satisfying the norms for
fire safety and car parking facilities in building premises got
diluted after state government brought in a new ordinance on July 22,
2007. It notified deferring of coercive action on unauthorized
building put up prior to July 2007 by way of moratorium.

It is learnt that the stringent action for unauthorized buildings
constructed between July 1999, the cut off date prescribed by High
Court order and July 2007, prescribed in the new regularization scheme
of state government under section 113-c diluted the Madras High court
order of 2006.

In the para five of Madras High Court order, the monitoring committee
was ordered to suggest less stringent measures bearing in mind the
impact of retaining the residential multi-storeyed buildings as well
as special buildings.

It is learnt a sub-committee was constituted to recommend ways and
means for less stringent measures and the report was forwarded to the
government for approval but it never saw the light of the day.

Even Madras high court order of 2006 asking the monitoring committee
to identify professional builders of illegal multi-storeyed and
special buildings for imposition of heavy peanalties which could be
used to compensate the unwary purchasers was noble move. A
sub-committee was constituted for imposing heavy penalties and
recommendations were also submitted but this was never implemented.

Even the move to act against illegal builders as well as corrupt CMDA
officials was never taken up despite enforcement cell of CMDA having a
list of erring builders. The monitoring committee’s recommendation to
register the builders under area plans unit was also not taken up.