CHENNAI: The Rs 19.30 crore Modern Market project at Papermills Road in Kolathur is caught in a legal tangle after it was constructed on 1.05 acres of land that is allegedly involved in a dispute. The project also allegedly lacked planning approval following which the Madras High Court had temporarily stopped the construction.
Judges SS Sundar and N Mala issued an interim order on July 16, restraining the construction work over possible lack of planning permission and pending civil suits filed by private parties contesting the ownership against a temple and the revenue department.
Pointing out that neither the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority nor the Greater Chennai Corporation was able to tell the court whether planning permission was obtained, the judges in their interim order said, “There shall be an order of status quo until further orders restraining anyone from putting up any construction without getting planning permission.”
The petitioners have approached the court again recently as the construction activity allegedly continued in the 1.05 acres of land.
T Thiageswaran, advocate representing the petitioners R Vetri and N Sivaraman, submitted before the court that the interim order was not complied with and CMDA had intimated through a letter that the site had no planning permission. The matter is coming up for hearing again next week, said Thiageshwaran.
The tender for the project was awarded to Erode-based Vivek Vijay and Company. The project was announced in the state assembly during the budget session of 2023-24. The Mylapore-based consultant AK Architects was appointed as consultant and submitted a revised estimate of Rs 23.5 crore for the project and a revised administrative sanction was given on October 16, 2023.