CHENNAI: Justice S M Subramaniam of the Madras High Court on Wednesday said the court would not spare or allow anyone to go scot-free if they engage in illegal occupation of government land or construct illegal buildings on such land.
The judge said this while passing orders on a petition regarding encroachment of government land in Coimbatore district by certain individuals, including AIADMK MLA K R Jayaram and BJP district president Balaji Uthama Ramasamy.
The judge said it was brought to the notice of the court that the Singanallur MLA and the BJP president had constructed buildings on the encroached land after getting the land transferred to them. Justice SM Subramaniam then directed the Commissioner of Land Administration and other officials to take possession of the encroached land along with the building within four weeks and utilise them for public purposes.
‘Regularisation of illegal construction violates rights’
“The alliance of bureaucrats, politicians and private individuals to grab government land is resulting in poor becoming poorer and rich becoming richer,” he said. Justice Subramaniam said by regularising illegal construction of buildings on government land, the state is committing unconstitutionality and violating the fundamental rights of citizens.
The noble idea of land reforms and to distribute land to eliminate inequalities in the society will be defeated, he said. The practice of regularising illegality must be discouraged and deprecated. Government land must be allotted to the landless poor and the needy subject to eligibility, he said.