HC directs Defence ministry, TN highways to submit report on

The Madras High Court has directed the Defence ministry and the Tamil Nadu highways department to file report on an unused 980 sq.ft of land on the side of the Adayar river which, a petitioner alleged, has become an obstacle to laying a road to connect a bridge.
The petitioner Elephant G Rajendran sought a direction to authorities concerned to lay the connecting road enabling people to use the bridge which was constructed in 2011.
The first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar, before which the PIL came up yesterday, directed authorities to file a report by October 20.

The petitioner submitted that the bridge connects Anakaputhur, Pallavaram and Porur, Kurnathur and Koyambedu market but it was not open to the general public.
The 980 sq.ft of land was given to the Air Force 60 years ago to draw water from Adayar river. But for the past 40 years it has not been put into use as the Air Force was drawing water from the Palar, he said.
When the state highways department tried to lay a road in 2011 to connect the bridge, the Air Force authorities objected to it, the petitioner submitted.
Several representations were submitted to the Defence ministry and to the state government but there was no response, he said.