CHENNAI: Every private property, which is not acquired within five years of preparing the master plan, cannot be treated as one reserved for public purpose, according to the Madras High Court.
A bench comprising Justices SS Sundar and G Arul Murugan earlier this month also directed the state government to immediately give directions to the planning authorities as well as the local bodies to implement the direction. The court was hearing writ petitions challenging the orders passed by the government under Section 80 A of the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act.
Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has prepared a master plan in 2008 showing the land belonging to the petitioners, where they have constructed buildings, as one reserved for public purpose, namely, ‘catchment area’. It is admitted that the land owned by the petitioners were never acquired in terms of Section 37 of the Town and Country Planning Act, the court observed.
As a consequence, in view of the provision under Section 38, the land shall be deemed to be released from reservation, the court stated.
The bench noted that the situations are causing inconvenience to the public, and the building owners who have developed the land are being taken to task by erroneous interpretations of the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act.