CHENNAI: The state government on Monday reclaimed 25 acres of land, valued at Rs 500 crore, which was in the possession of St Johns Educational Trust, at Mevalurkuppam B in Palanjur village near Chembarambakkam in Tiruvallur district.
According to officials, five acres of land were leased to the trust in 1993 for 20 years through a government order. However, the trust occupied another 20 acres nearby and built several facilities on it.
When the lease was over in 2013, notices were sent to the educational institutions to pay the pending dues of Rs 22 crore and to hand over the land to the government.
Since there was no proper response, the lease was cancelled in 2022 by the Kancheepuram district administration, under which the village fell till 2023. It was cancelled on the grounds that the lease was over in 2013 and trust had been filing cases against the government order to avoid paying the lease amount and was trying to grab government land.
After the village was annexed in Tiruvallur district, the collector issued orders to revenue officials to collect the dues. The latest notice was sent about six months ago and revenue officials reclaimed the land on Monday.
“The school that was operating on the Anadheenam land was already defunct. After serving notice six months ago, we have reclaimed the land,” said collector T Prabhushankar. He also mentioned that the district administration is considering utilising the buildings on the land to recover the outstanding dues from the institution.
Officials said stability test for the building will be done and sent to the government. Based on the order of the government, the land would be used for other purposes soon, they added.