Harming nature leads to disasters: HC on eviction notice

CHENNAI: While dismissing a petition filed by a few house owners who sought to set aside eviction notices issued by the Revenue Department, the High Court observed that if rampant encroachment of water bodies and tanks is regularised, it would encourage such acts thus leading to drought and floods.

Residents of Koladi village in Ayanambakkam near Poonamallee filed a writ petition against the eviction notices issued by the district administration. As per the notices, the petitioners are encroaching upon a waterbody in the village.

When the case came up for hearing before the bench comprising of Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and Justice N Mala, the counsel of petitioners submitted that notices were given with a direction to remove the encroachments leaving hardly any time for the petitioners to even approach the respondent authorities (PWD and district administration) to seek survey of the land and determine boundaries of the tank. The petitioners were not allowed to prove their rightful possession on the land in question.

On the other hand, the government pleader argued that the petitioners failed to prove ownership of the land or the right to possess it. The lands of tanks and waterbodies are required to be safeguarded and the notices were rightfully issued to the petitioners, the pleader argued.

Hearing both sides, the bench observed that the counsel of petitioners could not refer to any document to prove their right on the land. “The petitioners have given us photographs that show even the PWD constructed a road on the land of Odai and the petitioners’ land are close to it. We cannot endorse the action of the Department if they have constructed a road on the land of Odai, rather, in that case, even it needs to be removed,” the bench observed.

The bench also pointed out that the road does not establish a right to occupy the land without title. Stating, “if we keep affecting nature, it would affect human beings and it is happening day-in and day-out in the form of natural disasters like Tsunami, earthquake, etc,” the bench dismissed the petition.