CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed the authorities to render a building useless if it is an unauthorised construction and the owner did not take any step to rectify the defect.
If the authorities are unable to demolish the building, then they can remove the doors, windows, glasses, toilet seats, kitchen cooking platforms, water line pipes running into domicile from water tank or sump or any other mode to wash basins, including the tap or shower.
In the event of the building being found locked or closed by the occupants, the authorities should drill the roof of the building and make a big hole so that the building cannot be occupied any more. If the violated portions were not rectified, the authorities should demolish them, a division bench of Justices S Vaidyanathan and Krishnan Ramasamy said recently.
The bench was disposing of a writ petition from Mehraj Begum, who owns a property on Mettu Street in Mannady, consisting of ground plus two floors. It was let out on lease and occupied by tenants. The property was also mortgaged with a finance company.
She received a lock-and--seal-and-demolition notice on the grounds that the building did not have planning permission.
The bench said the Urban Development department secretary had to ask the owner to rectify the defects and for that purpose alone, the building could be unlocked and unsealed. The purpose of the Act is to ensure that the buildings are constructed in accordance with the plan. The deviations could be permissible in accordance with the rules to some extent and not in its entirety, the bench said.