CHENNAI: NOT convinced with the government’s claims that construction of Semmancherry Police Station on the Thamaraikeni lake bed in Sholinganallur is in keeping with Rules and Acts, the High Court on Thursday constituted a team to inspect the same and submit a report. The team will comprise the chief engineer of PWD and chief planner of CMDA.
The duo are to inspect the construction in presence of District Judge Rajasekaran, among others, and file a compliance report. The matter has been posted to December 5. Court was hearing a case filed by Jayaram Venkatesan of Arappor Iyakkam, seeking to quash reclassification of land for construction.
The land on which the station is being constructed is a waterbody, which has been reclassified to ‘institutional use zone’, argued the NGO. It wanted the construction of station to be stopped, and the waterbody restored to original form. The government’s pleader had informed HC that the construction of the station was over.
The police station will be inaugurated soon, the court had been informed. It was also informed that the reclassification of the land had happened before the decision of the HC Full Bench on the matter, which deprecated the practice of the government officials allowing unauthorised construction on water bodies. The land is no longer classified as waterbody, and there is no prohibition for construction, the government pleader submitted.