MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court directed the Karur district collector to pass an order after surveying whether public property was encroached upon in the construction of a toilet for school students.
Justice GR Swaminathan was hearing the plea filed by G Namasivayam seeking direction from authorities to remove the boys' toilet being constructed near a temple at Town Hall Road in Kulithalai.
The court said the toilet is being constructed for the benefit of 200 male students studying at the Municipal Middle School. Due to the dilapidated condition of the former structure, the local body wanted to construct a new toilet. The counsel appearing for Namasivayam and the temple submitted that there was sufficient space between the temple and the previously constructed toilet. They alleged that the present construction was being put up by encroaching on the street.
Hearing the arguments, the court said that the boys' toilet is built within a compound wall measuring eight feet high and will be exclusively used by children studying in the school and not as a public toilet. When buildings are put up by the local body or the government, prior permission from the planning authority is not required. However, any development undertaken on behalf of the government or the local authority will have to conform to the planning norms observed by the court.
The court said that as encroachment on a public street cannot be permitted, the district collector should conduct a survey through a taluk surveyor and pass an order based on the outcome. If the objections, including encroachment on a public street, were found to be correct, then the construction would be stopped.
Moreover, the objection has been raised only regarding the construction of the boys' toilet adjacent to the temple, and not for the construction of the girls' toilet which was put on hold, the court noted and ordered the resumption of work. The district collector was also directed to ensure availability of mobile toilets in sufficient numbers to cater to the needs of all students.