CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday informed the Madras High Court that a "world-class" park would be established by annexing the land retrieved from the Agri-Horticulture Society on Cathedral Road in Chennai and the Semmozhi Poonga.
Additional Advocate General (AAG) J Ravindran made the submission before Justice SM Subramaniam when a fresh petition filed by the president of the Agri-Horticulture Society Krishnamoorthy, seeking to quash the move to retrieve the land, came up for hearing.
He said the park contemplated to be constructed on the said land would be on the lines of the Royal Botanical Garden in London and Dubai Miracle Garden.
Pointing out that the High Court and the Supreme Court have junked the petitions filed by the society against the State government's actions to retrieve the prime land, the AAG said the petition was not at all maintainable.
The petitioner had never possessed any title deeds to the land; failed to produce any valid documents before the authorities to establish how it possesses the title over the said land; the Revenue records show that the land belonged to the State government, he said through a counter-affidavit.
Moreover, the society has been in the enjoyment of the highly valuable government land without even paying the nominal rent for several decades while the land would have fetched it several crores of income. He also said the commissioner of land administration is vested with revisional powers to overturn an order of his subordinate officer.
Senior counsel P Wilson, appearing for an implead petitioner, contended that the government had adopted all legal measures to retrieve the land.
Appearing for the petitioner, senior counsel G Rajagopal said the government had taken away the land forcibly by misusing its powers; and so the government orders for taking away the land be quashed.
The judge has reserved the orders.