Vellore Corporation's building work draws residents’ flak

The resumption of construction of an office building, which was reportedly stayed earlier by the High Court, by the Vellore Corporation at Sathuvachari has triggered a dispute between the urban body and a residents’ welfare association.

Talking to DT Next, general secretary of the Vallalar Phase III Residents’ Welfare Association G Mohan said, “We have been repeatedly asking the contractor and the Zone II assistant commissioner to provide us with a copy of the High Court order permitting the construction of the office, but it is of no avail.”

It all started when TN Housing Board (TNHB) allocated 100 acres for a construction project and out of 100 acres, 9.95 acres were identified to be maintained as a lung space in 1970s. The TNHB started building houses and flats in Phase III and after the construction, the entire area was handed over to the civic body in 1991.

Things went smooth until 2016 when the corporation started the construction of the zone II office building with three floors on the 9.95-acre lung space that was allotted for public utility. “We were forced to move the High Court as officials refused to show us the approval for construction in the lung space. The court granted a stay in 2016 and work stopped,” Mohan said.

However, suddenly without notice officials resumed the work. The association filed an RTI petition to know the truth. It was then informed by the AD Town and Country Planning that the site was a “open space where no building could be constructed.” Ironically, it is the same local planning authority that has permitted the corporation to construct the zonal office at the site.

On Monday, the association submitted petitions to Vellore Collector SA Raman, SP Pravesh Kumar and the Sathuvachari police inspector. The inspector visited the spot and ordered the work to be stopped immediately. However, the work resumed once the inspector left the spot.

When asked about this, commissioner C Sivasubramaniam said, “The court has vacated the stay and I have the orders. I have shared them with the SP. We are only building an office for the benefit of the people.

However, the association said thattheir lawyer was never given such a stay vacating order.