CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has passed a retrospective resolution confirming the issuance of a no-objection certificate (NOC) for transferring 0.57 acres of the total 13.09 acres of government porambokku land located in Palavakkam, Kottivakkam, Neelankarai, and Injambakkam, to the Highways Department for expanding the East Coast six-lane highway road near Sholinganallur.
The resolution, passed during the council meeting on Thursday, stated that the 0.57 acres of the land completely consist of water bodies such as kulam (ponds), keni (natural reservoirs), and kuttai (small ponds), among others.
When TNIE tried to examine the current status of these water bodies and on what basis they were transferred to highways department, the revenue and corporation officials did not provide clarification as to whether these were existing water bodies as of today. Attempts to contact the Sholinganallur Tahsildar for further details were also unsuccessful.
The proposal stems from a February 2024 request by the Guindy Divisional Engineer to the District Revenue Officer, Chennai, urging land transfer for the road expansion project. Subsequent audit reports from the Sholinganallur Tahsildar and the Chennai South Revenue Division recommended issuing the NOC. Officials, including zonal and assistant engineers, reportedly conducted audits of the sites for the handover.