Ready to provide alternative housing for encroachers in Bethel Nagar, court told

The State government is ready to allot alternative housing facilities for those who have encroached land and constructed residential buildings in Bethel Nagar at Injambakkam on the outskirts of Chennai, it informed the Madras High Court on Friday.

Additional Advocate General (AAG) J Ravindran made this submission before the first bench of Acting Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice PD Audikesavalu, which was hearing a plea moved by Bethel Nagar Residents’ Welfare Association.

Pointing out that the authorities had provided electricity and water connection to their houses, the petitioners sought a direction from the court to the government not to evict them from their residential areas. The association also prayed that the government should regulate the meikal poramboke (grazing land) as residential land.

Responding to the submission, the AAG said the High Court had already issued an order to the government not to regularise grazing land as residential land. “If the encroachers are ready to vacate the encroached land, the government will provide alternative residential facilities to all who are coming out from the meikal poramboke land,” the AAG informed the HC.

However, the petitioners’ advocate informed the court said that he has to get the instructions from his clients. Recording the submissions, the judges postponed the matter for further hearing on February 9.

The High Court had recently directed the State government to evict all encroachers who are squatting on meikal poramboke land in Bethel Nagar. The petitioner association challenged this, noting that the government had provided electricity, water and other amenities by taking steps to convert the meikal poramboke land into residential plot.