CHENNAI: For years, residents of Balar Kalvi Nilayam Avenue, Vepery, have knocked on every door possible to stop a school auditorium from being given on rent for social events as these caused havoc in the quiet locality.
This month, a Madras High Court Bench issued orders that the school should only be used for school events and not be rented out for private functions, bringing relief to the much-harried local residents.
The three schools run by one management share the hall that gets rented out for weddings. The president of BKN Avenue Residents’ Association and petitioner, 84-year-old retired Indian Army Major J Victor, has lived in the locality for almost 50 years. He complained that marriage parties start late in the evening and go on the entire night.
“There will be loud, blaring noise and even after the party gets over, by the time the workers clean the area, it would be one or two in the morning. There are other senior citizens like me whose health gets affected because of this,” he told Express.
The petitioner claimed that the management sometimes also allowed functions during school days and rented out the premises for at least of 3-4 days each week and allegedly charged about `2.5 lakhs for each event. When Express visited the spot, a banner welcoming guests for a wedding reception was seen outside.
Despite a police outpost and ‘No Parking’ boards, those using the hall parked all along the road. “Sometimes it takes me 20 minutes to go from the end of the road to my house and the parked vehicles are a hassle to all the residents,” Victor added.
A resident of an adjacent apartment building, S Saifuddin, also complained that once a van remained parked, blocking his gate for four-five hours. “So often I’m unable to park my car inside because of a row of vans parked outside,” he said.
Victor alleged that the school was sometimes kept closed to allow these events and invoked the Tamil Nadu recognised Private Schools Rules, 1974 that states that school properties “shall be used for the purpose of conducting school or for functions conducted by such schools...” which the court also accepted.
In its order, the Bench comprising the Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R Mahadevan stated that the respondents in the case that includes the school management, Chennai corporation, CMDA and the Director of School Education, should take steps to prevent the school from renting out its premises for private functions.
The other aspect that the court highlighted was noise pollution caused by these events and ordered that the noise levels be kept under permitted levels.
A representative said the hall was also a part of the church management and it was only being rented out after school hours. He added that as the school was run for the less privileged, there was need for extra funds.
“We have to try and get all the funds we can. That’s why we rent it out. But we are taking steps to avoid noise,” he explained to Express.
The court directed that swift action should be taken in this case within three months.
