CHENNAI: The Madras High Court in a recent order has given a deadline of three months to the state government departments to clear the encroachments on the Adyar riverbank.
A division bench of Justices GR Swaminathan and V Lakshminarayanan passed the order dismissing a writ petition filed by residents of Anakaputhur who stated they were facing the threat of dispossession of their homes (as part of Adyar restoration) and that they belonged to the economically weaker section of the society.
“All the encroachers of the Adyar bank are aware that the government had proposed to restore the river to its pristine glory. The project however, remains stuck on account of encroachments,” the order dated May 16, stated, adding the court failed to understand as to why the Greater Chennai Corporation and Water Resources department have not cleared the encroachments till date.
“If there are encroachments, they have to be removed. In this case, we note with pain that the authorities have miserably failed in discharging their duties. The failure is all the more stark because the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board is ready to resettle the encroachers,” the order said.
Officials TNIE spoke to said 4,200 families in seven settlements along the riverbank are yet to be relocated. Around 5,400 families have already been relocated.
“There are some settlements like Thideer Nagar in Saidapet where there is resistance. We will expedite resettlement this month since the students are also on summer vacation; this will give them more time to adjust to the new houses and transition to nearby schools,” an official said.