Shocked over the erstwhile AIADMK government having assigned 3.45 acre of public land near Koyambedu central bus terminus in Chennai for construction of a shopping mall by Baashyam Constructions Private Limited, holding power of attorney from Hotel Saravana Bhavan, the Madras High Court on Monday directed the State government to initiate criminal prosecution against all public servants responsible for “grabbing” of high value government properties across the State.
Justice S.M. Subramaniam also directed the government to look into the structural corruption in the matter of grabbing of public lands and consider enactment of a suitable law to deal with such offences. He further ordered constitution of a high level committee to identify illegalities such as grabbing of government lands, non payment of lease rent and unlawful occupation of public lands and initiate appropriate action including criminal prosecution.
The judge said the 3.45 acre of land, which was part of a larger extent of 10.50 acre on which the shopping mall was to be constructed, was actually classified as a Grama Natham (common village land that could be used only for residential purpose) in the revenue records. However, in 1983, a Tahsildar had re-classified the land from Grama Natham to Ryotwari and in 1994, Hotel Saravana Bhavan had purchased it along with an adjacent private property of 5.80 acre.
