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Vadapalani fire: HC slams Corpn for inaction
Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner D Karthikeyan received more brickbats at the hands of the Madras High Court on Wednesday for the inept handling of the unauthorised residential complex in Vadapalani, where a fire accident killed four people.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
During the earlier hearing on November 11, after perusing an affidavit filed, the second bench comprising Justice Vineet Kothari and Justice Anita Sumanth had directed the Corporation Commissioner to file better particulars with evidence not only on action taken against the erring Corporation officials, but also about the compensation paid to the kin of those killed in the Vadapalani fire.
But when the plea came up before the bench on Wednesday, the Commissioner submitted a 17-page affidavit narrating the series of litigations over the building, and informed the court that the inquiry was still in progress.
The report submitted that the government had sanctioned Rs one lakh each to the family of the deceased, Rs 50,000 each to those grievously injured, Rs 25,000 to the other injured persons. In all, a sum of Rs 9 lakhs was given.
However, expressing utter dissatisfaction with the report, the bench noted that the previous order seeking details has not been adhered to. The report ought to have had the names of those who received compensation, as the writ petition was by the petitioner for this purpose.
The compensation was meagre, considering that the fault lay with the Corporation, the court observed, and directed the Commissioner to submit a report on enhanced compensation. The bench headed by Justice Kothari also sought details about the criminal action initiated against the owner, and directed the Commissioner to file a more specific affidavit on the action taken against the officials and the compensation offered.
The bench gave the official three weeks to complete probe against officials and a week to file charge sheet against building owner. The case has been posted for further hearing to January 3.
During the hearing, the bench also directed the Commissioner to come out with a plan to keep Marina beach clear of garbage. Pointing out that the beach continues to be strewn with garbage at any point of the day, Justice Kothari said Marina should be clean at least in the coming year.
Zone-wise special teams formed to monitor illegal buildings
After getting lambasted by the Madras High Court for its inaction in demolishing a building with violations in Vadapalani that claimed four lives, the Greater Chennai Corporation has started the process of forming Zone-wise special teams to monitor the illegal constructions.
However, a Chennai Corporation official said the teams could not monitor the buildings for which the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) had issued planning permissions. “We are issuing planning permissions for buildings with ground plus first floor and stilt plus two floors. For the special buildings and multi-storeyed buildings, CMDA is issuing permissions. Due to this our team will cover only the buildings that availed plan approvals from us,” the official said.
The official explained that the decision of forming teams is taken after the court intervention against illegal structures.
According to the official, the team would function under the purview of Regional Deputy Commissioners. The teams would cover all the buildings in respective Zones over a period and would take action against the violators.
The team would also check construction materials dumped on roads and pavements. “We have issued orders to Assistant Executive Engineers of respective divisions to issue notices to the building owners who store construction material on roads. If the members of the teams find construction material on roads, actions will be taken against the Assistant Executive Engineers for failing to take action,” the official said.
The officials added that the process of forming teams in all the Zones is underway and they would start the monitoring works soon. As the civic body had delegated the power of issuing building plan approvals to Zonal Executive Engineers, they would act as the leader of the team.
Meanwhile, the civic body has started issuing notices to the building owners for storing construction material on road. “After the notice, the building owner should remove the materials within 48 hours otherwise, the materials will be confiscated,” the official said.
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