Madras HC directs authorities to demolish commercial complex

The Madras High Court has directed the authorities to demolish a commercial complex here in a month besides, directing them to remove illegal constructions and encroachments in public places.
A Division Bench comprising Justice M Venugopal and Justice S Vaidyanathan warned officials who failed to demolish the building to be penalised.
"Land encroachments were like cancer that slowly ate lung spaces of lands and definitely there will be no breathing space for anyone on earth," the Bench observed.
The matter relates to a plea by the petitioners seeking to quash last year's orders of the Housing Department and Naravari Kuppam Town Panchayat as well to demolish a commercial complex in Red Hills here for violations.

The petitioners challenged the two orders after unsuccessful litigation which reached finality at the highest level in the Supreme Court.
Dismissing the petitions of D Rajappa and R Jayalakshmi, the bench said regularisation contemplated under a government order of June 22, 2017 cannot be invoked now by petitioners since the issue attained finality in view of a Supreme Court order.

Therefore, the building, a commercial complex in question shall be raised to the ground, the bench said.
The petitioners are not entitled to seek the indulgence of the high court to invoke the said government order for regularisation.
Observing that the government shall not regularise the illegal construction, the bench said, "The government should attempt to remove the illegal construction and also encroachments in public places like roads, parks, open space reserved as observed by the Supreme Court.