CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed the Registration department to furnish the names of officials who had registered as many as 202 documents on the marshlands in Pallikaranai from 1990 onwards.
Justice N Kirubakaran, who gave the directive on Monday, also ordered the authorities to furnish details about the punitive action taken against the officials and the list of executors and beneficiaries.
Originally, while granting conditional anticipatory bail to two persons, who apprehended arrest in connection with a case relating to alleged fabrication of documents to claim a property measuring 66.70 acres in Pallikaranai belonging to the government for a meager sum of `66 crore, the judge on October 28, 2015 noticed that marshlands were being fraudulently or by design encroached upon and alienated.
He then gave several directives to the authorities to safeguard the marshlands. The directions included one asking the Chennai Corporation to give its proposal with regard to shifting of the dumping yard to some other place, time required for the same, as also the steps to be taken to restore the marshland to its original state, before it came to be used as a dumping yard.
When the matter came up on November 18 last year, the judge impleaded 20 government officials as parties to the case and issued a set of directives which included blanket ban on registering properties on marshlands all over the State.
Earlier, the judge was told that clandestinely and systematically the marshlands in Pallikaranai village comprising several survey numbers were being alienated illegally, fraudulently and by design by unknown persons/land grabbers with the help of influential officials, men with muscle and money power by clubbing parts of marshlands with some other properties, which are located in various parts of the State.
The judge had directed the Inspector General of Registration, Chennai Zone, to direct all Registrars in Tamil Nadu forthwith not to register any document relating to marshlands either separately or jointly along with any other properties.
When the matter came up on Monday, the judge directed the Forest Department, CMDA, Chennai Corporation and Metro Water officials to meet and give a proposal for fencing the marshlands so that the future encroachment could be curtailed. It should also state the amount required, which can be obtained from the government.The mater was later adjourned till April 17.