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Corpn turns blind eye to shops, hotels eating into public space

Corpn turns blind eye to shops, hotels eating into public space
Julie Mariappan | TNN
times of india, 21/06/09, chennai edition, page no.4

Chennai: As law enforcement agencies fail to keep an eye on public spaces meant for pedestrians and vehicle users, encroachers thrive along arterial roads. And as corporation officials and police display little enthusiasm to restore public space to citizens, anti-socials, backed by political clout, often take over. Regaining encroached land is not easy, as social activists will tell you.
Take the example of the three permanent sheds that cropped up last week on more than half a ground of land, off the Mambalam canal near Saravana Bhavan in K K Nagar. Until it was uprooted recently, a notice board put up by the Chennai Corporation had announced that the land was owned by it. Today, the boards can be seen near the canal. “It is shocking,” says K Pugazhenthi, an advocate who has complained to the local body about the encroachments.
On the road adjoining the canal there are more than 140 traders selling timber. The traders had earlier encroached on pavements near the ESI Hospital on Anna Main Road. It was only at the behest of the Tamil Nadu Housing Board that they were relocated to the present site. Instead of confining themselves to the earmarked space, they extended their outlets on to the road, further shrinking the narrow road space.
“Traders have been pleading for a permanent site to be allocated by government. We have to wait and see whether the state regularises such encroachments,” says V Gopalakrishnan, a social activist.
On Anna Main Road, eateries have sprung along the roadside. Some shop owners have illegally built concrete structures near Metrowater’s sewage treatment plant in K K Nagar. Hundreds of vehicles use the road to reach Virugambakkam and Porur, but that has not prompted authorities into taking action against offenders. Helping the eatery business thrive is a TASMAC outlet nearby.
The local body has also hardly shown interest in clearing encroachments on government-owned land in Soolaipallam, near the Adyar river. An Anganwadi (No. 784) has been running here for years, but now a portion of it has been encroached on by a neighbour. The remaining open space has been taken up by parked vehicles, huge garbage bins and construction material.
When contacted, authorities said that they would soon initiate action and get rid of encroachments. “We have intimated the local police also,” a senior official said.

BRAZEN VIOLATION: The encroachments next to the Metrowater yard in K K Nagar on Anna Main Road