CHENNAI: The state government has informed the Madras High Court that the site for constructing the proposed Vallalar International Centre on the Sathya Gnana Sabai premises in Vadalur is not an ancient monument site of archaeological significance. Further, it said that approval has been obtained from various departments, including Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, Environment department and the Directorate of Town and Country Planning.
Advocate General (AG) P S Raman, representing the government, made the submission before a special division bench of Justices R Suresh Kumar and S Sounthar when the petition challenging the approval for construction came up for hearing on Friday. Raman said a three-member expert committee carried out an inspection and submitted a report that the site is not an ancient monumental site. He added that one of the committee members was Dr D Dhayalan, former director of the Archaeological Survey of India.
The committee report stated, “No archaeological remains were found in the trenches to identify the nature and chronology of the laterite work. However, the construction process and lime mortar bonding indicates that the structure may be fewer than 100 years.”
BJP state secretary of spiritual and temple development wing S Vinoth Ragavendran filed a petition challenging the construction. Advocate N Suresh, representing the petitioner, said the saint (Vallalar) had mentioned in hymns that the “peruveli” (space), where the centre is going to come up, cannot be utilised for any other purposes.
The bench asked the counsel on what would bar the construction unless the site was notified as a protected monument, and then adjourned the case to August 22.