Unauthorised buildings at Choolai sealed

CHENNAI: Yesterday, as part of the fresh drive against unauthorised buildings in the city, Chennai Corporation officials sealed three buildings in and around Choolai, which deviated from their approved planning permission.According to officials who were engaged in the drive, a commercial building on Hunters Road was locked and sealed by the civic body for it covered setback areas on stilt, first and second floors. Another reason is the unauthorised construction of third and fourth floors, while permission was obtained only for ground-plus-two floors.Two more commercial buildings located on Gopal Menon Street and Rotler Street in the same locality were also locked and sealed by the civic body for similar violations and unauthorised construction of additional floors.The Chennai Corporation has begun the new drive on unauthorised buildings under the section 56 (2A) of Town and Country Planning Act-1971, which gives ample power to the civic body to lock and seal any building that has deviated from its original and approved building permission, after serving proper notice.In a poster placed on the walls of the sealed buildings, the civic body has warned that neither the owner nor developer/occupier have any right to use the (sealed) premises in any manner until the building is restored as per planning permission/removal of unauthorised portions or till the order is revoked. Tampering with the seal fixed by the civic body will invite a criminal prosecution on the owner or developer/occupier, the poster warned.The drive is expected to continue for a few more weeks across the city as the civic body has come under severe criticism at the recent meeting of the Madras High Court-constituted Monitoring Committee on unauthorised buildings in the city for making no effort to stop such constructions.