Semmanchery police station nearing completion: TNPHC

When contacted, TNPHC officials said that 60 per cent of the construction is over and added that the building will be ready for inauguration in a month’s time. The police station attracted a lot of attention over allegations by an NGO that it was being built on an encroached lakebed. Police officials clarified that they had obtained the required approval for the construction and shared a copy of the planning clearance issued by Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) with DT Next. “The only approval that remains to be obtained is from Chennai Corporation after the completion of the construction,” said the official.

A Greater Chennai Police official said that the land was not encroached upon as claimed by some, adding that it was reclassified for institutional use way back in 2015.

“The application for planning clearance was submitted earlier and it was with the nod of the authorities concerned that the construction was started, even though the official clearance came much later,” said the official. The CMDA letter of planning clearance for the police station is dated August 19, 2019.

Police officials said it was important to clear the air on this topic as the department was being projected in a negative manner among the public giving the impression that it has encroached the land without getting required clearances.