CHENNAI: Even as the Madras High Court appears to be showing no leniency to evict encroachers from Bethel Nagar, the Chennai district administration on Friday requested the court time till end of the current academic year for completing the eviction process.
Chennai Collector J Vijaya Rani, in an additional affidavit filed before the first bench of Acting Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice PD Audikesavalu, requested time till April 30 in view of the academic year and students attending online classes.
She also begged for modification of the recent order regarding disconnection of electricity supply with the pandemic prevailing and that young babies, children, elderly and patients would be affected. The students attending online classes are being affected by the disconnection, are demoralised, and have their future hit, the collector said.
Saying that the district administration is fully committed to implement the orders of the court, she informed that 108 electricity connections were snapped and 84 of them have been sealed so far and the exercise would continue. Thirty two boards were installed in the vacant sites as well as in the resumed sites warning the encroachers. Seven compound walls were demolished.
The collector further stated an action plan has been drawn to carry out the eviction. Within a month, an undertaking will be obtained from encroachers regarding their willingness to relocate and the final list of those unwilling to move out will be placed before the court and the relocation will be done in a phased manner.
The affidavit was submitted in connection with a contempt petition filed by IH Sekar, Managing Trustee of Nature Trust. Meanwhile, a petition was filed before the court on behalf of the residents of Bethel Nagar. The court adjourned the matters to January 31.