CHENNAI: The Chengalpattu district administration has recovered 41,952 sqft of land worth Rs 100 crore, which was under encroachment for many years, at St Thomas Mount village in Pallavaram taluk.
According to a release, Rahul Nath, collector, of Chengalpattu district, said steps will be taken to use this land for metro rail works.
An official release said the land was initially given on lease to Kasi Viswanathar temple. In due course, it was encroached upon by the Vanniyar Sangam building, and no lease amount was paid to the government.
Pallavaram Tahsildar sealed the building on Friday.
Office eviction stayed
Meanwhile, the first bench of Madras High Court consisting of Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice PD Audikesavalu on Friday ordered status quo on the eviction of the Vanniyar Sangam office. The interim order was passed on a petition filed by K Arumugam, secretary of Vanniyar Sangam.
Senior counsel NL Raja, appearing for the petitioner, alleged that if the eviction is done, it would affect the stay of poor students who are accommodated at a hostel in the building.
Spl officer told to file interim report about irregularities in Victoria hall
The Madras High Court has directed the special officer appointed to manage the affairs of the Victoria Edward Hall in Madurai to submit an interim report of the investigation into the alleged irregularities in the facility on September 4.
Vacating an interim stay on the appointment of the special officer (SO), Justice SM Subramaniam ordered the SO to take charge of the administration of the Victoria Edward Hall and commence inquiry proceedings.
After taking charge of the administration of the petitioner - society, the SO shall ensure that the library shall be kept open for the general public, the judge said. He directed the office-bearers of the society to hand over the office keys, documents, registers, bank passbooks, chequebooks, account books etc to the SO immediately, enabling him to take charge of the administration and commence the enquiry proceedings without causing any further delay.
The commercial taxes and registration department issued a G.O. on March 1, 2023, appointing the SO for managing the affairs of the hall following a dispute between two groups of members of the society that runs the facility.