COIMBATORE: The residents of Kamarajapuram and RS Puram have urged the civic body to pave a new road on the land that was retrieved from encroachers at the VCV layout in RS Puram on Sunday. The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) installed a notice board on the retrieved pathway on Tuesday and announced that people and motorists can use the road without any hindrances.
The civic body’s 21 cents of land located on VCV layout in RS Puram was originally a 40-foot wide road. It was encroached by S Balasubramaniam, a businessman from the same area, for the past 35 years.
Apart from encroaching on the CCMC’s property, the encroacher had rented out a portion of the land to another person for Rs 95,000 a month. After the Madras High Court’s order, the illegal encroachments were removed by the civic body on Sunday and the road was retrieved by the CCMC’s town planning department officials.
Balasubramaniam along with other encroachers filed an appeal in the Supreme Court about two weeks ago and submitted a petition against the removal of his properties on the disputed land by the civic body. The Supreme Court which ordered an investigation into the matter, rejected the encroachers’ appeal and dismissed the petition.
In this situation, the CCMC installed a notice board on Tuesday, mentioning - “Based on the Supreme Court’s order and the Madras High Court’s order, encroachments on the 40 ft road which belongs to the CCMC has been removed and brought to public use. There are no restrictions for the public or motorists to use the pathway.”
A couple of vehicles began using the road on Tuesday. People residing in the Kamarajapuram area near the 40 ft road burst crackers and celebrated the eviction and retrieval of public property. The residents have demanded the officials to tar the reclaimed road at the earliest before some other miscreant start encroaching on it.