Dr.S.Ramanujamohan(Died), v. The Director,

BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT DATED : 07.03.2024

CORAM:

THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE D.KRISHNAKUMAR and THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE R.VIJAYAKUMAR and W.M.P.(MD) No.941 of 2019 Dr.S.Ramanujamohan (Died) S.Ranjani ... Petitioner [The petitioner is substituted vide order dated 07.03.2024 in W.M.P.

(MD) No.5458 of 2024] -vs1.The Director Office of the Directorate of Town and Country Planning Anna Salai, Chennai-600 002 2.The District Collector Collectorate Thoothukudi District

3.The Deputy Director The Town and Country Planning Tirunelveli Zone South Bye Pass Road Tirunelveli-5 4.The Commissioner Kovilpatti Municipality Kovilpatti Thoothukudi District 5.Mahalakshmi 6.Sahadevan ... Respondents PRAYER: Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, to issue a writ of mandamus directing the respondents 1 to 4 to take action against the respondents 5 and 6 for the illegal and unauthorized constructions in Door Nos.49A and 50 situated in Survey Nos.513/23 and 513/21, Santhaipettai Street, Kovilpatti, Thoothukudi District, in accordance with law. For Petitioner :

Mr.R.J.Karthick For Respondents :

Mr.T.Amjad Khan Government Advocate for R1 to R3 Mr.J.Parekh Kumar for R4 Mr.Pon Senthil Kumaran for R5 & R6

O R D E R

[Order of the Court was made by D.KRISHNAKUMAR, J.] Prayer in this writ petition is to direct the respondents 1 to 4 to take action against the respondents 5 and 6 for their illegal and unauthorized construction in Door Nos.49A and 50, situated in Survey Nos.513/23 and 513/21, Santhaipettai Street, Kovilpatti, Thoothukudi District, in accordance with law.

2. According to the petitioner, the respondents 5 and 6 have in fact obtained building plan approval from the fourth respondent for construction of ground floor and first floor for residential purpose. However, despite the same, they started construction of first and second floors for commercial purpose. Further, there is a major deviation in the construction of building as the respondents 5 and 6 have put up construction in the setback area also. Though a notice under Section 205(1)(2) of the Tamilnadu District Municipalities Act has been issued to the respondents 5 and 6, subsequently, no action has been taken against them to stop the construction and they have completed the construction of second floor also without obtaining any approval from the competent authority. Seeking to take action against the

respondents 5 and 6, though the petitioner submitted representations right from 09.06.2017 till 22.10.2018 to the respondents 5 and 6, the same did not yield any fruitful result. Therefore, the petitioner has filed the present writ petition.

3. Learned counsel for the respondents 5 and 6, on instructions, submitted that the respondents 5 and 6 have applied to the authority concerned for a revised plan for the second floor.

4. Taking into consideration the fact that though a notice under Section 205(1)(2) of the Tamilnadu District Municipalities Act has been issued to the respondents 5 and 6 and subsequently, it is seen that no action has been taken against them by the fourth respondent to stop the unauthorized construction, we direct the fourth respondent to take necessary action for removal of unauthorized construction in accordance with law, after providing due opportunity to the parties concerned, within a period of twelve weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.

5. To be noted, in order to curb the unauthorized constructions, the Government has constituted a High Level Monitoring Committee and issued G.O.(2D) No.15, Municipal Administration and Water Supply (MA.1) Department, dated 01.03.2024. The Monitoring Committee shall monitor the inspection of the unauthorized constructions as per the said Government Order. The fourth respondent shall file an action taken report before the Monitoring Committee for removal of the unauthorized construction made by the respondents 5 and 6.

6. With the above direction, this writ petition is disposed. No costs. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petition is closed. [D.K.K., J.] [R.V., J.] 07.03.2024 (2/2) NCC :

Yes / No Index :

Yes / No Internet :

Yes / No krk

To:

1.The Director, Office of the Directorate of Town and Country Planning, Anna Salai, Chennai-600 002.

2.The District Collector, Collectorate, Thoothukudi District.

3.The Deputy Director, The Town and Country Planning, Tirunelveli Zone, South Bye Pass Road, Tirunelveli-5.

D.KRISHNAKUMAR , J.

and R.VIJAYAKUMAR, J.

krk and W.M.P.(MD) No.941 of 2019 07.03.2024 (2/2)