The Municipal Corporation and the District Administration on Wednesday rapped the marriage gardens in the city for their delay in adhering to the guidelines that were set for them.
The guidelines make it mandatory for the marriage gardens to set apart 25 per cent of the total area reserved for parking, have proper system for the disposal of waste and separate toilets for men and women. The Municipal Corporation issued a notice to the owners of the marriage gardens, warning of strict action including closure and hefty penalties for those who don’t adhere to the guidelines.
The District Administration also warned the marriage garden owners that the marriage gardens will be declared illegal and action taken against the owners if they fail to submit the required documents for registration.
The District Collector, Rahul Jain has formed a special committee to look into the irregularities including the diversion of land.
According to sources in the Municipal Corporation 80 percent of the marriage gardens are illegal and are run on residential area and land that is set apart for other activities.
According to the rules marriage gardens can only be run on commercial land, but many of the marriage gardens function from agricultural land.
It is mandatory to get prior permission for the diversion of such land.
A permission of the plan for diversion has to be obtained from TNCP. According to TNCP guidelines, permission can be given only to such persons who have more than 1 hectare land and 60 feet wide road in front of the proposed site.
Panic stricken owners of the marriage gardens today assembled at Parinay Vatika to formulate future plans. According to the spokesperson the marriage garden owners they will meet the Mayor and the Collector to request for more time to regularize things.