Chennai Corporation’s move to assess 50,000 buildings on poramboke lands will encourage encroachments, say activist

CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation’s proposal to levy property tax for buildings constructed on poramboke lands would encourage encroachment of government lands, said activists in the city.

According to O Unnikrishnan, a city-based activist, the State government had issued an order in 1973 mandating that all the unobjectionable encroachments on poramboke land should be disposed of or assigned, but without jeopardising the interests of the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (now rechristened as TNUHDB), as long as all the slums in Chennai city are not totally cleared.

"The order also says that only unobjectionable poramboke land which is not required by the Slum Clearance Board should be assigned to poor encroachers. As on date, there are many slums in Chennai city which the board is not able to allot houses for want of government land.

“Assessing property tax for 50,000 buildings on government poramboke land for the benefit of rich and influential individuals violates the Revenue Standing Order (RSO)," he pointed out.

Urging the civic body not to legalise the encroachments by levying property tax, Unnikrishnan added that the encroachments on unobjectionable poramboke land should be removed and the land handed over to Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board.

As per the RSO 21 (10) (iv), all encroachments on objectionable poramboke should be demolished under the Tamil Nadu Land Encroachment Act, 1905.

Based on requests from the city Corporation councillors, the civic body had decided to assess property tax for the buildings constructed on poramboke lands and sent a proposal to the government.

"Even though we assess the property tax for encroachment buildings, we will include a condition saying that the assessment will not entitle the encroachers to ownership. They should vacate the land whenever the government decides to take back the land," justified a senior Chennai Corporation official.

Another rider is that the encroachers should get a no-objection certificate from the Revenue Department for getting their buildings assessed for tax.