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RE: Chennai Real Estate

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Govt goes flat out to aid buyers

Mahendra Kumar Singh TNN

New Delhi: Builders will sell residential property on the basis of carpet area instead of ambiguous terms like super area and a regulator will ensure housing projects declare the status of important civic clearances: These are the provisions of a new law aimed at giving home buyers a better deal.
The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Bill,which the government plans to move in the budget session,has been framed under provisions dealing with property transactions in the concurrent list of the Constitution that applies to the states,making the proposed legislation more than a model law.
In a bid to try and make sure developers stick to timelines,the proposed law states that realty players will have to park 70% of funds in a particular bank account so that resources are not diverted and buyers are not left in the lurch.
A real estate regulator in every state will make it mandatory for private developers to register all projects before sale of property and only after getting all necessary clearances,addressing a major concern of buyers about incomplete or fraudulent land acquisition.
According to the bills provisions,failure to declare status of clearances will invite up to a maximum three years imprisonment or fine that can amount to 10% of project cost.

Realtors will have to be more transparent

New Delhi: Builders will sell residential property on the basis of carpet area instead of ambiguous terms like super area and a regulator will ensure housing projects declare the status of important civic clearances.
Realty players will have to disclose project details and contractual obligations to ensure transparent,fair and ethical business practices.There can be a model agreement which is expected to reduce ambiguities in real estate transactions that not many buyers are familiar with.
Private builders are not comfortable with some of the bills provisions and have voiced their objections at a meeting chaired by housing minister Ajay Maken and urban development minister Kamal Nath.Those who attended the deliberations included representatives of developers associations CREDAI,NAREDCO and industry chambers CII and Ficci.Builders maintain there is no need for a regulator as they are already subjected to clearances from multiple agencies.They feel the penal provisions hurt their interests,but the government might want to increase the odds in favour of consumers.
The meeting was called after the intervention of the PMO which asked the two ministries to resolve differences and quickly finalize the long pending bill.The government hopes that the move for a strong legislative protection for buyers,which will also rein in unscrupulous players,will help in gaining the appreciation of middle class voters who have drifted from Congress in the wake of a series of corruption scams.
Real estate agents will also be asked to register with the regulator.The agents,an important link between the promoter and buyer,have been unregulated.Once they are registered,it will help in curbing money laundering, an official said.

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TN spends crores on buildings,red tape stalls their opening

Structures Built With Public Funds Remain Unused For Various Reasons

Pratiksha Ramkumar | TNN

At a time when government departments are battling space crunch and are crying for more funds and facilities,at least four important government buildings constructed at a cost of more than 1,000 crore,and completed more than six months back,are lying idle due to political and legal reasons.
The shiny new building,painted in white and blue,towering above the Buckingham Canal opposite the Central Railway station is one among the new facilities which is ready but yet to be put to use.The building bearing a board -- Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital and Madras Medical College was built at a cost of 70 crore on a 10-acre plot where the Central Prison once stood.More than 90% of the hospital work had been completed as early as June 2012 itself,say sources.Nearly seven months ago,they said the main building meant to house the under-graduate,post-graduate,paramedical and nursing students,had already been complete and only a few issues such as electrical wiring and procurement of furniture needed to be done.
Now,health department sources say the status remains pretty much the same.Officials from the Public Works Department (PWD) have not yet handed over the building to us, said an official.We hear there is some electrical work pending, he added.The furniture for the new building was ordered only in December 2012,and it is reportedly on its way.We have not moved in because of the wiring.Once its done we will require just two weeks to shift our laboratories and old furniture, said a senior member of the college.Officials refuse to guess as to when the first class will be conducted in the building.Hopefully the 2013-2014 batch will start their medical education here, said the member.
The new city police commissioners office building shares a similar fate.The state-of-the art building built at a cost of 21 crore on five acres of land on Poonamallee High Road was reportedly completed in September 2012.Senior officials told mediapersons in September 2012 that they were trying to get an appointment with the chief minister to inaugurate the facility by the first week of October 2012.Construction of the 10-storey building began in December 2008 and 95% of it was complete in July 2012.Only a little plastering work,plumbing and electrical work are remaining, said a senior police official at that point.
Six months down the line,the status has not changed much.A senior police official told TOI on Sunday: Only some electrical wiring and metro water connection work is pending. He said they expected the work to be completed in two weeks.I think we should move in 30 days time, he added.
However sources say,all the two buildings are waiting for is the chief ministers nod and appointment for inauguration.
Two other buildings are stuck in litigation.The case of the new assembly-secretariat complex,built at a cost of 1,200 crore and which was supposed to be converted into a superspecialty hospital,is now pending in the Madras high court.In September 2011,the state government announced its decision to convert it into a collegecum-hospital.More than one PIL was filed in the court,which then restrained the government from carrying out even internal modification works till the case is disposed of.The case is still pending.
Three buildings in Pondy Bazaar,Ayanavaram and Royapuram,built to accommodate hawkers,were completed in 2010 and 2011.However,all the three buildings built at a cost of around 4 crore each lie under lock and seal.The T Nagar building remains unused because a few shop keepers,who were allotted shops on the third floor,moved the high court seeking allotments on the first floor.
The high court passed final orders in the matter in December 2012.The Chennai Corporation is now conducting meetings with the hawkers and promise to open the building by the end of the month.
pratiksha.ramkumar@timesgroup,com

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CentreTN politics puts Kattupalli port project in the dock

Arun Janardhanan TNN

Chennai: The 2,000 crore Kattupalli Port,already more than a year behind schedule,islikely tobedelayedfurther.
An ongoing tussle between the state government and the Centre has left the private-public project in limbo.Though two dates were finalised for the port to be commissioned April 2012 and January 10,2013 the dates were changed atthelast minute.
Officials say the port,38km northof Chennai,isone of several infrastructure projects held up because the Centre and the state have obdurately failed to find a solution.Other projects,including the Chennai Port-M aduravoyal Elevated Expressway,are also stuck at variousstages.
According to a Central government official involved in theclearanceof the project,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was supposed to inauguratethe porton January 10.
Thecompany was given a date by the Prime Minsters Office for the inauguration.The company was forced to postpone the function for unknown reasons, he said.Sourcesin theshipping industry say it was put off after the state expressed displeasure over the project being commissioned,because the port had not met commitments on providing employment to residentsof Kattupalli.
Operations at Kattupalli port were earlier delayed for several months due to customs officials in Delhi failing to provide clearance to the project.
State officials and Kattupalli Port chief operating officer G Gandhirajan refused to commenton theissue.
Officials at Kattupalli port havestartedtrialsof domestic ship building operations and completed a maiden trial run of vesseloperations.

WAIT CONTINUES: Kattupalli port,which is 38km from Chennai,was to be ready by January 10 but the opening was postponed

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Property tax hiked,will IT cos log out

Pratiksha Ramkumar TNN

Chennai: The Corporation of Chennai on Monday pitchforked infotech companies into a different assessee category,increasing the rates of property tax they will have to pay by up to 200%.
It may not be time as yet for companies to pull the plug on Chennai as a favoured destination,but industry representatives said they were taken aback by decision.
This is against the states policy of being an investor-friendly destination, said Nasscom senior director K Purushothaman.Companies will now have less incentive to invest in the city.
IT companies in the heart of the city Teynampet,Kodambakkam,Anna Nagar and Adyar,where the rate has been increased by 200% will now pay the most property tax.Firms in these zones so far paid anywhere between 3/sqft and 9/sqft.They will now have to shell out anywhere between 9/sqft and 27/sqft.This is much more than IT companies pay in Bangalore ( 10/sqft per year for companies that own the building and 20/sqft per year for firms that rent commercial space) or Kolkata ( 12/sqft per year per year).
IT companies were so far clubbed with departmental stores and other small establishments in the non-residential building category.The corporation has now moved them under the special buildings category,with five star hotels and malls.

Flat home taxes keep revenue LOWEST AMONG METROS

Civic Body Has Not Revised Residential Property Tax Rates For 15 Years

Pratiksha Ramkumar | TNN

Chennai Corporation is probably the only metro civic body in the country not to revise property tax in 15 years.As a result,its revenue is the lowest among the municipal corporations of the six metros.
In 2011-12,Chennai Corporation collected 358 crore against its target of 558 crore.The target,in fact,was 100 crore less than the property tax revenues of Bangalore City Corporation,Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.These corporations have been earning revenue of 650 crore to 1,000 crore till March 2012,and plan to increase taxes by the end of the year.Delhi Municipal Corporation was trifurcated into East,North and South in 2011.While East and North earn about 150 crore each from house tax,South Delhi sees an income of more than 330 crore.Brihanmumbai Corporation that used to collect 2,000 crore has just hiked its property tax to earn 5,500 crore.
Despite the law saying Chennai Corporation should revise rates every five years,they have remained unchanged since 1998.We did not want to burden the people,so we focused on identifying under-assessment and improving collection rates, said former mayor M Subramanian.Sources say the reasons were primarily political.Every party starts developing cold feet ahead of elections, said a corporation senior official.The civic body has been following the base unit area system from 1998,which levies tax on a propertys guideline value.The state government guideline value was revised in August 2007 and March 2012.However,the civic body continues to reassure people that it will not hike rates for residences.
Political and public pressure is not unique to Chennai Corporation.BMC faced stiff opposition when it decided to move from the rateability system to the base unit area system.The move was opposed by old building owners,some of who would have to pay double the tax.After two years,BMC began issuing notices to house owners this year for the new rates.The Hyderabad corporation in 2011 removed a 25% rebate on property tax offered in 2002.Hyderabad revised its rates according to guideline values in 2000 and in 2008.
Delhi Municipal Corporation revised rates in 2007,and the three corporations have decided to increase tax rates up to 60%.Kolkata Municipal Corporation hiked its tax in 2006,and in December 2011 by 12%.Bangalore Municipal Corporation revised taxes based on guideline value revisions in 2000 and 2007.
While Chennaiites enjoy low tax,the civic body is struggling to keep its head above water.A house in an up-market area in Bangalore,where there is a distinction in rates for rented and owner-occupied houses,incurs a property tax of 5 a sqft per year.Chennaiites in the posh Boat Club Road area pay 4 a sqft per year.The Corporation set up a taxation committee,but officials are not optimistic about a revision.Till the 2014 elections are over,no hike will be allowed, said a senior official.

City corporation targets IT profits

Pratiksha Ramkumar | TNN

After a string of government sops drew IT biggies like Cognizant Technology Solutions and software technology consulting firms like KPMG and Deloitte,Chennai Corporation has decided to increase property tax by 50% to 200%.
Industry representatives say they were shocked by the decision.A member of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) said the corporation could have had a meeting with representatives of IT companies so both sides could arrive at a solution that allowed Chennai to retain its image as an investor-friendly destination and ensured an increase in the civic bodys revenue.
He said the tax hike,with the power crisis and fuel price hikes,would be a triple whammy that will hit start-ups and smaller companies hardest.
Most IT companies will have to pay a higher rate of property tax than companies in Bangalore,where the rate is 10 a sqft a year for a company that owns the building and 20 a sqft for a firm that is using rented space.This is an unprecedented move for any developing IT hub in the country, said Nasscom senior director K Purushothaman.
The corporation expects to mop up an additional Rs 10 crore with the increased tax.Corporation officials said a study of IT parks showed that the civic body earns Rs 10.84 crore from 344 IT firms.The buildings occupy 3.30 crore sqft,which means they pay an average of only 3.29 a sqft.
The corporation moved IT companies from the non-residential building category which also includes department stores to the special buildings category that includes five star hotels.The corporation will soon invite objections and conduct a public hearing on the tax increase,after which the government will pass an order to bring the hike into effect from April.

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Chennai residential market likely to slow down in 2013

Jayaraj Sivan TNN

Chennai: The Chennai residential market,which was flooded with new projects in 2012,may slow down in 2013.But builders will remain busy executing already launched projects,realty consultant Jones Lang LaSalle India (JLL) said in a review of various Indian markets.
A similar trend is expected in Pune too,but Kolkata and Hyderabad,on the contrary,arelikely towitness more residential projects.Among tiertwo cities,Ahmedabad,Bhubaneswar,Kochi and Coimbatore are likely to witness hectic activity in 2013,the report said.
While apartments in the price range of 2,000 to 3,000 per sq ftwerebeing sold quickly in the past two years,sales may shift to 3,000 to 5,000 per sq ft segment in the coming years on account of huge increase in the cost of construction,the report said.Overall,the real estate sector is poised to drive the Indian economy forward as the government may be forced to slash interest rates by 100 to 150 basis points (1% to1.5%) in the coming year in the wake of GDP growth lagging behind,said Ashutosh Limaye,head,research and real estate intelligence service of JLL India.
Despite the positive trend,unsold inventory of apartments remain a matter of concern for builders across the country and Chennai is no exception,the survey said.
Within a five km radius of Kelambakkam on the Old Mahabalipuram Road in the city,about 50,000 apartments are being promoted and at least 40% of them remain unsold,said Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India Chennai chapter president Sandeep Mehta.Many of these projects are 1,000-plus apartment enclaves targeting the IT sector.
On a monthly basis,about 200 apartments get sold in and around Kelambakkam.It is about 400 apartments per month between Perungudi and Sholinganallur on the OMR, he said.
Though about 1.5 lakh people work in Sirusseri IT Park alone,a vast majority of them are migrants and prefer settling down in Bangalore, said Mehta.Even as many builders struggled to sell their stock,a city-based builder,Akshaya,who launched a 2,134-apartment project in November,got more than 1,000 bookings in the first few days alone because of aggressive pricing.

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Schools under bldg violation scanner

Submit Approved Plans Or Face Action,Regulatory Body Tells Institutions

Jayaraj Sivan TNN

Chennai: After turning the screws on about 2,400 colleges for violating building norms,the Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) is gearing up to issue similar notices to more than 17,000 private schools across the state,asking them to submit their building plans,duly approved by the regulatory agency.
A vast majority of private schools either do not have any approval for their buildings or get clearances from local bodies,which have no locus standi to sanction construction of big buildings,said an official.Offices of regional deputy directors and local planning authorities falling under the jurisdiction of the DTCP have been instructed to issue notices to all schools immediately, said an official.Arranging the addresses of all the schools in the state is a laborious task as they fall under various affiliating agencies like CBSE,ICSE,the department of school education and the directorate of matriculation schools,the official said.
This is the first time that educational institutions in the state are feeling the heat for building violations.Since the affiliating bodies did not insist on submission of approved buildings plans in the past,violations continued unabated for decades.Of late,CBSE has put in place stringent norms for inspection.Many schools and colleges have even encroached upon large tracts of government land.An engineering college chairman was recently arrested in Kancheepuram district for allegedly grabbing four grounds (one ground is 2,400 sqft) of land belonging to a neighbour.
Schools that fail to produce approved plans will have to pay a hefty penalty,apart from the routine plan approval charges and infrastructure and amenities charges.It is anybodys guess as to how much these levies will work out to.It may run into a few hundred crores of rupees, the official said.
In the case of colleges,it is roughly estimated that infrastructure and amenities charges due to the government will work out to roughly Rs 450 crore,even going by a conservative estimate,said another official.Colleges have sought a complete waiver of all levies.
College managements have also petitioned the government to exempt them from surrendering open space reserve (OSR is meant for parks and play grounds) land to local bodies.Even if the government agrees to such a plea,colleges may have to compensate it by paying guideline values of those properties.
About 35,000 schools run by government and quasi-government agencies do not fall under the DTCP scanner because as per the Town and Country Planning Act,central and state governments and local bodies like municipal corporations and panchayat unions can construct buildings without prior approval of the DTCP.They only need to get clearances subsequently.But the law prohibits private institutions from carrying out any construction activity without prior approval from the competent regulatory agency CMDA in the case of Chennai and suburbs and DTCP in the case of rest of Tamil Nadu.

FEELING THE HEAT

This is the first time schools are being asked to submit building plans Many schools and colleges across the state have encroached upon government and private lands Schools which fail to submit building plans will face action,including payment of fine
35,000 schools run by government and quasigovernment agencies do not come under the purview of the DTCP

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Citys public transport 14 yrs behind London

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: Chennai stands exactly where London was 14 years agoin termsof transportation systems.The city,with its various modes of transport that carry close to 85 lakh people a day,functionslikeLondon did before the unified Transport for London (TfL),the government body responsible for all transport systems in the Britishcity,wasformedin 2000.
Chennai is exactly like London was in 1999.London had an underground tube,trains,buses and taxis,all working independently.There was nosingle authority thatintegrated them and made them work seamlessly and efficiently, said Ben Plowden,director,Better Routes and Places Programme at Transport for London.TfL brought all the organizations together and taught them to work together so that London kept moving even during a large event like the Olympics, hesaid.
Plowden wasin Chennaion athree-daytrip tointeractwith officials from government agencies and departments to discuss the implementation of the Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority.The trip was organised by Institute for Transportation and DevelopmentPolicy.
Chennai has all the ingredients to shift more people to public transport.They just need to be expanded and solutions that work locally need to be adopted, he said.His suggestions include starting with simple things like issuing mapsof the rail andbus routes;compiling data about buses,trains,usage,accidents to aid decision making;and identifying an area in which the solutions can be tested and implemented.That area can become a model,the standard that has to be replicated.These things happen incrementally,notovernight, hesaid.
Since Transport for London was set up in 2000,the shift from private to public transport has been growing at 7% to 8% every year.Professionals andthe middleclass arethefastest growing section of usersof publictransport, hesaid.
During the brainstorming sessions that Plowden and ITDP had with government officials,they found that Chennai would need at least 5,000 busestocater tothecurrentdemand.With 3,400 buses,each MTC bus makes 1,550 trips a day.Ideally,the number should be 1,100 trips per bus per day.At least 25% of the trips made by share autos need to be shifted to MTC buses to reduce congestion on trunk roads.Taking these and other factors into account,Chennai needs at least 5,000buses, said Shreya Gadepalli,regionaldirector ofITDP.
While the first line of Chennai Metro Rail will roll out by 2014,on January 9,London celebrated 150 years of the underground tube system.The system was set up in 1863 and operates on a 400km network with 270 stations.CMRL will cover 45km with 32 stations.

Ben Plowden

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Hospital dream takes shape as House plan gets buried

Healthcare Facility To Be Ready By October

Julie Mariappan TNN

Chennai: Hours after the Madras high court cleared the decksfor theAIADMK governments plan to convert the new secretariat complex at Omandurar Estate into a hospital,about 100 contract workers of the public works department goton thejobon Thursday.The 550-crore complex will be remodeled at a costof 26.92crore and converted into a 400-bed hospital.
The governments plan is to have the hospital in Block A ready by October.BlockBofthe complex,where a medical college to come up,will be ready for Medical Council of Indias inspection in September and admissions will start the next year, said a senior government official.The hospital would receive patients for outpatient care directly or through referral.The inpatient care would be by referral only.The hospital will complementexisting governmenthospitals rather than competing with them.The partly built Block B will see civil works without any delay,hesaid.
Thehospitalisto matchthe standards of Delhis All India Institute of Medical Sciences.Theconversion hasbeen taken up based on the recommendationsof a high-levelcommittee led by the then chief secretary,Debendranath Sarangi.A 17-member team,including Preetha Reddy of Apollo Hospitals,KMCherian of Frontier Lifeline Hospital,and Adyar Cancer Institute chairperson V Shanta suggested that the hospital have 400 beds,with sections for cardiology,cardiothoracic,neurology,neuro surgery and hand and reconstructive microsurgery.The post-operative care and ICU willhave 60beds.
Ithasbeen decidedtohave a separate section for vascular surgery in viewof the growing vascular problems in diabetes patients.The proposedcardiologydepartmentwillbehoused on onefloor with all relatedservices.The committee members felt there should be a good coordination for cadaver transplantations.It has been felt that high cost technological solutions like robotic surgery need not be implemented at this stage.Preference shall be given to good quality basic services for more patients, a sourcesaid.
Aspecialwardwillcomeon the fifth floor,leaving the sixth floor for operation theatres.

Court says Jayalalithaa plan will benefit poor in city

Tchief high minister court on J Jayalalithaa Thursday cleared s plan the to convert deck for the new assembly complex into a multi-super specialty hospital-cum-medical college.A batch of public interest petitions were filed both for and against the proposal,and on January 20,2012,the court restrained the government from carrying out any construction or repair works,and asked it to keep off the building.Passing final orders on the matter on Thursday,the judges said: We are of the considered view that the decision of the government cannot be stated to be arbitrary or hasty one,without any material available on record.It is also to be borne in mind that if a multi-super specialty hospital is established,it will serve the public and promote public interest as rightly contended by the learned senior counsel for the government.
They said the existing Government General Hospital,Stanley Hospital,Kilpauk Medical College Hospital and other private hospitals are not sufficient for Chennais population of one crore.The fact remains that as on date there is no government hospital available in Chennai which can be equated with AIIMS,New Delhi.The government should keep it in mind that the multi-super specialty hospital should also serve the poor,middle classand downtrodden people who are not able to afford specialized treatment for serious ailments, the bench said.The judges also pointed out that the authorities have obtained environmental clearance for conversion of the complex into a hospital on May 16,2012 and a no-objection certificate too had been obtained from the fire and rescue services department on March 21,2012.Applications have also been sent to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and the CMDA for necessary orders.Noting that the governments policy decision to have a multi-super specialty hospital at Omanthurar Government Estate,which was also approved by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly,cannot be interfered by the court,the judges dismissed all PILs against the proposal.TNN

Works start on the new hospital at the Omandurar complex on Thursday evening

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Muslim board evicts ten residents from Triplicane

Pratiksha Ramkumar TNN

Chennai:In the heart of Triplicane,around the historic Amir Mahal,are hundreds of tiny lanes that form the oldest parts of the city.The streets,congested through the day,are home to some of the citys oldest residents.Unfortunately,the families have been living there for so many years that most of them lack proper ownership papers.
The ambiguity over ownership was highlighted again on Wednesday evening,when Ameerunnisa Begum Sahiba Endowment a registered and notified waqf with the help of a few policemen evicted 10 residents from their houses.
A few men forcibly entered their houses and began throwing out vessels and things, said R Tara,a resident.They brought huge machines to show people that they could even demolish the houses, she says.Nearly 107 families,who are part of the House Owners Association in Triplicane,spent the night out in the open.
The endowment board began issuing eviction notices to the 107 houses on Monday.You have defaulted on payment of rent from July 2003 and lost rights over the superstructure,and therefore our client has terminated the lease and filed for eviction against you, said the notice.It called people unathorized occupants of wakf property and asked them to vacate the land.
The irony though is that land on which the houses are located belongs to the Chennai Corporation,or is poromboke land,and not the endowment board.The old survey number of the land is 329.The resurvey numbers of the houses are 110,125,187 to 215,228,231,240 390,391,395 and 2,875.According to the Madras Survey Registrar,13 of those survey numbers belong to the Chennai Corporation and another seven do not have records,which means they are poromboke land.This was again confirmed in an RTI reply given by the district revenue officer on March 23,2008.
The endowment board,however,insists that the land was handed over to the it by Ameerunissa Begum in 1959.The board has been charging the residents,who have been living there for decades,land rent.Land rent is what tenants pay to occupy the ground,so even people who have built or bought houses continue to pay land rent.
Repeated attempts to contact officials of the Ameerunissa Begum Sahiba Endowment proved futile.The corporation has promised to look into the issue.The mayor is meeting the residents on Friday afternoon.Once we verify the survey numbers and claims,action will be taken, said a corporation official.The residents on Thursday met the joint commissioner of police,complaining about the police involvement.

The Ameerunnisa Begum Sahiba Endowment has issued eviction notices to 107 families

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CONTENTIOUS ISSUE

No one wants power plants,but everyone wants bijli: SC

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi: Seeking to draw the line on litigation against power projects,the Supreme Court expressed unhappiness over resulting delays and cost escalations while dismissing a plea challenging a hydroelectric project on the Alaknanda in Uttarakhand.
The court observed that it is ironical that while power projects face opposition from the moment they appear on a drawing board,every citizen wants uninterrupted power supply.
The courts views will come as a relief to the government that has been facing sustained protests from activists and a section of environmentalists who have used legal devices and organized agitations against projects like the Kudankulam nuclear power plant.
Dismissing a petition challenging the Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydro-electric project,a bench of Justices H L Dattu and Ranjan Gogoi said : The moment a power project is to start,litigation is filed in court.If initially the project cost is Rs 1,000 crore,it escalates to Rs 10,000 crore over the years and tax-payers money is wasted.
Environmentalist Vimal Bhai had challenged the validity of the clearance for Vishnugad-Pipalkoti project.In September 2,2009,the state government approved diversion of 80.507 hectares of government forest land for the project and on June 3,2011,stage-I clearance under the forest (conservation ) act was granted project by the union ministry of environment and forest (Moef).
Petitioners counsel Anitha Shenoy based her arguments on the sustainable development principle oft-cited by the court itself and said when guidelines are not followed properly,stage-I clearance should be quashed.
The bench,however,found no force behind the argument that the project lacks a cumulative impact assessment.We really wonder what people in this country say.They say we dont want hydroelectric plant or a nuclear power plant,but everybody wants bijli (electricity ), the bench said,
The petitioner had earlier moved the National Green Tribunal,which found no fault in the clearance given to the project which is designed to be a 65 metre tall diversion dam,being developed by Tehri Hydro Development Corporation.
The petitioner alleged that while diverting forest land,cumulative impact assessment required consideration of the quantum of lossof agriculturalland,river bed land,number of affected families,village infrastructure,and geological settings among other factors.
But the bench refused to go into this aspect and dismissed the petition rejecting the counsels request for withdrawal of the appeal.

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Court foils bid to grab King Institute land worth 1,500cr

A Subramani TNN

Chennai: This is the mother of all land grab attempts.The Madrashighcourthasfoiled a conspiracy to take over 56 acres of prime piece of real estate at Guindy,where the famed King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research stands.The market value of the land is aboutRs 1,500crore.
In September 2008,a settlement officer granted patta for thelandto nine persons,throwing all norms to the winds.The high court too is partly responsiblefor theconfusion,asithad issued an innocuous considerand-pass-order direction enabling the nine personstostake claim for the property,even though the King Institute was in continuous possession ofthe landsince 1899.
Justice K Chandru,slamming the officials and canceling the patta,said if the settlement officers order is implemented,the employees of the King Institute will have to use a rope car to reach their workplace.The findings of the settlement officer are wholly illegal and inconsistent, he said.
The lands where the King Institute,Dr MGRMedicalU niversity,Tamil Nadu NewsprintsLimited andT amilN adu Pollution Control Board stand todayoriginally belongedtothe Adyar zamin.However,after the enactment of the Tamil Nadu Estates (Abolition and Conversion into Ryotwari ) Act,1948,theentireland vestedwith the Tamil Nadu government.The King Institute has been functioning at the location since 1899,when the first building wasbuilt.
The nine people,who were never in possession of theland,staked claim for it for the first timein February 2002,andthey sought change of nature of the land.On September 1,2008,settlementofficer CKasthuri,who was placed under suspension later,issued patta in favour of the nine and held that all but the buildings of King Institute belonged to them.Mambalam-Guindy tahsildar and the King Institute approached the HC,seeking cancellation of the settlementofficersorder.
Special government pleader MC Swamy,representing the government,said prime property at the heart of the city would fall on private hands if the tahsildar s petition is rejected.
Justice Chandru said : The settlement officer had shown undue haste and unwarranted interest in disposing of the applications made by the private persons.She had not gone into the veracity of the claim made by the private personsthatthey were the legal heirs of the erstwhilezamindar.
Concluding thatthewoman officer had passed the orders without jurisdiction,Justice Chandrusaid,Itis a clear case where private respondents have hatched a conspiracy to grabthelandswhichhavebeen in possession of the government department for nearly a century,by taking recourse to dubious legal proceedings and by obtaining an order without any justification from this court.

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No permit given to actors assn to construct bldg,HC told

Chennai: Neither theChennai Corporation nor the Chennai Metropolital Development Authority (CMDA) has given permission to the Nadigar Sangam (actors association ) to construct any commercial building on its land in T Nagar,theMadrashighcourthasbeen told.
Recording thesubmissions,the first bench comprising acting Chief Justice Elipe Dharma Rao and Justice Aruna Jagadeesan said the residents who had opposed the building plans of the Nadigar Sangam couldchallengethe proposal as and when a cause of action arises.
According to the petitioners counsel the Nadigar Sangam CharitableT rust andCine Artistes Association proposed to let the premises to Sathyam Cinemas to construct an eightstorey complex.He contended thatthesitewasin a residential area andif a commercialbuilding was allowed to come up,it would affect the peaceful atmosphere and cause traffic congestion.On its part,the ChennaiCorporation andtheCMDA said they had not approved any plan for construction at the site.TNN

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Land worth 1,000cr reclaimed along beaches,shows report

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: About 15 acres of landworthcloseto 1,000crore have been reclaimed along the Chennais shoreline,according to a fact-finding team comprising environmentalists,lawyers andscientists.
The team compared Google images and used GPS devices to physically map six sites.They found that government bodies such as the Chennai Corporation and PWD have violated coastal regulation zone (CRZ) norms at Srinivasapuram,Adyar creek,Thiruvanmiyur and Neelankarai.In most areas,construction debris has been dumped on the sand and reclaimed land is being used for other purposes.
The fact-finding team was ledby TKRamkumar,a lawyer and environmentalist,and Kartik Shanker,a marine turtle specialist and faculty at the Indian Institute of Science,Bangalore.
At Pattinapakkam,construction debris was dumped up to a height of two metres and an area of 2.6 acreswas reclaimed.Once a sandy beach,it is now being used as a venue for driving tests by the regional transport office.Over the years,the filled-up site has been used for parking buses, readsthe report.
The reclamation has also made it impossible for Olive Ridley turtles to nest.Olive Ridleys are a Schedule 1 species under the Wildlife Protection Act,which puts them on par with tigers.It is important to protect their nesting habitat, said Akila Balu,coordinator for Students Sea Turtles Conservation Network.
Adyar creek,which was once partially a wetland,is now an unauthorised dump site,said the report.A Google Earth image from 2001 shows thesouthern portion as vacant land and the northern portion as a wetland.The entire wetland portion has been reclaimed as can be seen from the Google Earth image from 2011 and multi-storied buildings have come up on the reclaimedland,the reportsays.
Experts say the area is ecologically sensitive and utmost care must be taken.Unauthorised dumping has been happening for over 20 years and the government must protect them, said S Ramachandran,professor of oceanography and vice-chancellor of VelsUniversity.

Construction debris dumped at Pattinapakkam beach.The report also showed that 2.6 acres of land was reclaimed here

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43 die on Tamil Nadu roads every day

Driver At Fault In 91% Of Accidents,Shows Report

A Selvaraj TNN

Chennai: Despite claims of Tamil Nadu adopting modern road safety measures,the number of deaths on roads has gone up in the state.According to statistics compiled by the transport department and the state police,15,900 people were killed in road accidents in 2012,up from 15,422 the previous year.This means at least 43 people die in accidents every day.
The authorities recorded 67,980 road accidents in which 90,830 people were involved last year.According to the state crime records bureau,91% of the accidents were because of the drivers fault.Pedestrians were found responsible for 1,747 accidents.Mechanical defect caused 112 cases,while bad roads were blamed for 472 cases.Bad weather caused 63 accidents.A majority of the deaths (22,168) happened on national highways in the state,followed by state highways (20,920 cases),district roads (15,020 cases) and village roads (7,765 cases).
P T Ali,managing trustee of NGO Accident Death Care Cell,said the government needs to do much more for road safety awareness.The vehicle population is growing rapidly,but road space has not increased considerably, he said.He added that driving licences should be given only after stringent tests to ascertain the driving skills,safety awareness and road etiquette of drivers.We spend more than 30% of our lives on roads.Many drivers with valid licences dont have any knowledge of traffic rules.Online examinations can be held to test the applicants, he suggested.
Experts also feel children should be taught traffic rules in schools.People are happy to violate traffic rules,which are causing the accidents.Simultaneously,the road width should be increased periodically according to the vehicle population, Ali said.
A city traffic police officer said,We never encourage the violators.However,violations can be minimized only with the involvement of society. In a joint partnership with the state governments,the Union government has been taking measures to minimise accidents across the country.
The main drive of accident prevention and control across the world has been on 4 Es: Education,enforcement,engineering and emergency care of road accident victims.

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DELAYS SHOOT UP BUDGETS
POOR PLANNING holds up three road projects

Deadlines Pushed As Land Acquisition Comes In Way Of Construction

Karthikeyan Hemalatha | TNN

Three important projects have been delayed due to lack of planning and cooperation between government agencies.While the Moolakadai flyover will be completed only in nine months,the twin-flyover project in Anna Nagar has been delayed by six months due to realignment of the flyover after the failed attempt to demolish Anna Arch.
The construction of Porur flyover for commuters crossing the Mount Poonamallee Road-Arcot Salai junction continues.The construction began in 2010 and is likely to take more than a year.After a two-year legal battle to acquire land,all work was stopped in May 2011 as Metrowater refused to shift pipelines that obstructed pillars.We have given up on the project.There is no sign of any work happening, said Ashish Tatolu,a resident of Porur.With such a delay,the cost of the project has shot up from 35 crore to 60 crore.The price of land has increased as well as the cost of the construction material, said a highways official.
Highways officials say they have now decided not to wait for Metrowater to do its part.We will shift the pipelines ourselves.A tender will be floated in 10 days for this, said an official.Once the contractor is chosen,the shifting of lines will take three months and the construction of the flyover will take a year from then.It is likely to be completed in March 2014.
At Moolakadai flyover,work has progressed but the deadline has been pushed by a year.The original deadline was January 2013,but officials say the work could go on for nine more months.At the end of 2011,the department had not completed land acquisition and had done only 5% of the work.So far,about 30% of the project has been completed.Though we asked for permission two months back,we got it only now.Traffic will be diverted next week, said an official.Of the budget of 50 crore,works of 15 crore has been completed.
Following the Anna Arch controversy,the much awaited twin-flyover project at Anna Nagar has been delayed by six months.The new design has been finalised.The land acquisition is minimal.The work has resumed in full swing, said a highways official.The original deadline was May 2013,and has been shifted to December.We have completed 40% of the project.This has been the status for the last three months, said the official.

LIFE IN A METRO

Work on three important flyovers,which will ease traffic congestion in the city,has been progressing at a snails pace with little coordination between government agencies

MOOLAKADAI FLYOVER

PORUR FLYOVER

ANNA NAGAR TWIN-FLYOVER

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