MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently imposed a Rs 10,000 cost on the Madurai corporation commissioner for the corporation's failure in providing a proper response to a petition filed by a man, in 2014, alleging that his land was illegally taken by the civic body for laying road under the Vaigai river scheme.
The petitioner P Ramachandran claimed that his land, which is situated on the banks of the Vaigai River and measured around 2,214 sq ft, was taken by the corporation for the above purpose in 2010. Though he gave a representation to the corporation on February 22, 2010, seeking adequate compensation or an alternative land in return for the acquisition of his land, there was no response from the corporation, he alleged.
Justice B Pugalendhi, who heard the petition recently, noted that right from the initial stages of the hearing in 2014, there has been no proper response from the Madurai corporation to the petition. Even in the recent hearings, the corporation has failed to respond to a specific allegation made by the petitioner that the procedure contemplated under Land Acquisition Act was not followed by the corporation while acquiring his land, the judge pointed out. The corporation instead took a stand that the petition is not maintainable on technical grounds, he added.
Further citing that the corporation has not yet considered the petitioner's representation dated February 22, 2010, the judge observed that the Madurai Corporation, being a statutory body, has certain duties towards the citizens of the country. But it has neither considered the petitioner's representation nor given any written response to his petition which is pending in HC for more than eight years, the judge stated.
Criticising this attitude of the corporation, the judge imposed a Rs 10,000 cost on the corporation commissioner, along with a direction that the amount should be deposited in Madurai Corporation General Fund. He also directed the commissioner as well as the Madurai collector to file a detailed response in the case by the next hearing on April 25.