Enact law to stop encroachment of govt land: HC

CHENNAI: The State government should enact a law to prevent encroachment of government land, appoint a committee to identify properties that are illegally occupied, and initiate criminal prosecution and disciplinary action against all, including officials and public servants, who are responsible for such cases, directed the Madras High Court.

Justice SM Subramaniam issued these directions while hearing a petition moved by Baashyaam Constructions seeking a direction to the government to grant patta for 3.45-acre land along Poonamallee High Road in Koyambedu.

The real estate firm said the government had issued an order in 2021 granting patta for the land at the rate of Rs. 12,500 per square feet.

The firm had planned to establish a shopping mall and hypermarket with an investment of Rs 1,575 crore, which would provide direct and indirect employment to 7,500 people. However, in 2022, the government withdrew the order and took the land back stating that it was government poramboke.

Appearing for Baashyaam, senior lawyer ARL Sundaresan claimed that the land was not poramboke and sought for a direction to quash the 2022 order.

After the submission, the judge held that the 2021 order assigning the government poramboke-natham land in favour of Baashyaam Constructions was erroneous. “This court is astonished at the manoeuvers exhibited in a systematic fashion to grab lands belonging to the government illegally,” observed the judge.

“The entire process has been subverted to assign lands to a particular group of people, majorly the wealthy, influential, and political members of the society. The stratagem employed by the land grabbers is foolproof and can be witnessed specifically in lands belonging to the government across different political spectrums,” he added.

This systemic violation is done hand in hand by the bureaucracy and the politicians, said Justice Subramaniam, directing the government to take possession of the government land, fence the property and utilise it for larger public interest. The court then disposed of the case.

DIRECTIONS:

Enact law to prevent the grabbing of government properties

Appoint high-level panel to identify unlawful occupation of government properties

Initiate criminal prosecutions and disciplinary actions against all involved, including government officials and public servants