CMDA asks builders to fall in line

Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has directed 77 commercial multi-storeyed building owners in the city to restore the structures to the approved plan. It also issued demolition notices to 23 applicants, who had sought to regularise such buildings under the 1999 regularisation scheme. CMDA vice-chairman R. Santhanam said the high court-appointed monitoring committee, which met here on Friday, reviewed the action taken by the Authority regarding the regularisation applications and passed orders. "Demolition notices have been issued in cases of buildings that have been constructed without any approved plan or in case of serious violations," he said. The applicants would be given a 45-day notice to demolish the unauthorised portions or structures. "The committee decided that if the applicant does not take any corrective action within the notice period, the water and electricity connection would be cut." He said in most of the cases the notice period would expire by next month-end. CMDA also informed the committee that it has sought additional particulars from 12 applicants in the same category, who had applied under the 1999 scheme. The officials informed the committee that individual rejection letters were sent to applicants, who had applied under the 2002 regularisation scheme, which had been struck down by the Madras High Court. "We have already sent individual rejection letters to 3,267 applicants out of 6,522 cases. The committee asked CMDA to speed up the process and send letters to all the applicants under the regularisation schemes of 2000 and 2001, which have also been struck down by the High court." At the next meeting, the committee would take up development control rule violations by those in the `special building' category. A sub-committee, Mr. Santhanam pointed out, had already been formed to finalise guidelines in view of the court directive to adopt "less stringent measures" towards residential buildings. The committee also finalised norms to be followed while issuing completion certificates for new buildings as per directions given by the court in its August 2006-judgement.