CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed the vice-chairman of the CMDA, commissioner of Chennai Corporation, MD of CMWS&SB and chairman of TNEB to show cause as to why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them for not complying with its earlier directions relating to demolition of unauthorised constructions in the city.“The status report filed today (on Wednesday by them), in our view, is nothing but an eyewash,” the first Bench comprising Chief Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice T S Sivagnanam said and directed the four top officials to file separate sworn affidavits to this effect.Originally, while passing orders in 2006, on a public interest writ petition from the Consumer Action Group, a division bench of the Madras High Court had constituted a monitoring committee consisting of the four top officials and other eminent persons with a specific direction to look into the multi-storeyed commercial complexes and to take action for demolition of unauthorised constructions.The order also stated that the professional builders of illegal multi-storeyed and special buildings should be identified for imposition of heavy penalties and the officers of the four wings, who were responsible for the failure to enforce the planning laws, should be identified and prosecuted.When three more writ petitions were filed last year on the same issues, the Bench on August 12 last granted two months time to the authorities concerned to submit a status report as to the steps taken by them for demolition of unauthorised constructions. During these two months, the authority concerned should take up immediate action on the lines suggested by the monitoring committee and file an action taken report (ATR) with regard to demolition of unauthorised constructions.Accordingly, the status report and the ATR were filed on Wednesday. After going through them, the Bench found that not even a single unauthorised construction had been demolished or any action taken in furtherance of it. Holding that the status report was nothing but an eye-wash, the Bench gave the direction. It also pointed out that till date, more than 100 unauthorised buildings were in existence in T Nagar area alone and not a single building had been razed to the ground. Similarly, in other places more than 1,000 buildings unauthorisedly constructed were still in existence.Since the government had not succeeded in assailing the 2006, order in the Supreme Court, the Bench said it was left with no option other than strictly complying with the directions given in the 2006 judgment. The matter would be taken up again on November 1.
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