'Million dollar' question how nod was given to building sans

The Madras High Court today said it was a "million dollar question" how approval given to a real estate developer to construct a 13-storeyed residential building here, which has no access.

It directed the authorities concerned to file an affidavit explaining how the sanction was accorded.

Perusing the sketch of the property given by the Revenue department, a division bench of Justices N Kirubakaran and Krishnan Ramasamy said, "it is very clear that the developer has got no access from Anna Salai or any road."

"To put it in other words, there is no arrangement to enter the premises from any side, as the site is bound on the North by Adyar River, East by Dhobigana, and West by a water channel."

The matter relates to a batch of petitions regarding properties shown as Primary Residential Area by Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority.

 

"When there is no access to the property in question from Anna Salai or from any other side, as the land on the Southern side belongs to Tamil Nadu Highways Department, it is a million dollar question as to how the approval has been granted for the said building," the bench observed.

The bench directed all the authorities responsible for giving approval for the construction of the building to file an affidavit giving details as to how such approval was given in the absence of ingress and egress to the property.

"It is impossible to think that the concerned authorities would have lost sight of the material point," it said.

Referring to the No Objection Certificate given by the Water Resources department, which declared the area as "Flood Prone Zone," the bench said, "Admittedly, in the instant case, the Adyar River and from the photographs produced before this Court, it is clearly seen that there is no gap between the water way and the new construction."

The bench then directed the Chennai River Restoration Trust to inspect the subject property and file a report on the aspects of the distance between the waterway and the new construction, presence of any river bund in the particular spot and the details of money sanctioned by the government to it for the past five years.

It also impleaded the Tamil Nadu government as a respondent in the case and posted the matter for further hearing to August 2.