The Madras High Court on Monday permitted the State government to continue the ongoing construction of a commemorative arch across Kamarajar Salai, that runs parallel to Marina Beach, to mark the birth centenary of former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran. However, it restrained the government from inaugurating the arch until the disposal of a public interest litigation petition filed against its construction.
Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and N. Seshasayee passed the interim order on the PIL petition filed by advocate D. Dinesh Kumar, who contended that it was completely unnecessary on the part of the State to spend ₹2.52 crore on the arch. The petitioner wanted the arch, being constructed opposite to Public Works Department office, to be considered an encroachment under Section 26 of the Tamil Nadu Highways Act of 2001.
Rebutting the contentions, Advocate General Vijay Narayan brought to the notice of the court that Kamarajar Salai was not a State highway. He said the petitioner had approached the court at the eleventh hour when almost 65% of the construction was over after obtaining necessary clearances from statutory authorities. The decision to construct the arch was announced on the floor of the Assembly more than a year ago.
Thereafter, the Greater Chennai Corporation had passed a resolution on November 23, 2017 seeking no objection certificate from the State government. The Revenue and Disaster Management Department issued the NOC on August 21, 2017 and the foundation stone was laid on August 23 this year. “Now, the entire structure is totally complete. Only embellishments and decorative items were being added to the arch,” the A-G said.
He pointed out that the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) too had granted permission for the arch under Section 49 of the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act of 1971. Asserting that not even an inch of the existing width of Kamarajar Salai would be affected because of the arch being constructed without a centre pillar, the AG said, there would be also sufficient space for pavements on both sides of the arch.
“The present arch is completely similar to the arch constructed in 2013 for commemorating the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. Therefore, the State took a bona fide decision and proceeded on the basis that there is already an identical arch hardly a kilometre away from the present location and it was allowed by the High Court then by dismissing a PIL filed against its construction,” the A-G argued.
The judges expressed their disappointment over governments showing greater interest in constructing arches and memorials than on public issues. For instance, they pointed out that land acquisition compensation to be paid by the government had accumulated to a whopping amount of ₹850 crore over several years and yet thousands of land losers were yet to get even paltry amounts awarded as compensation to them.“Citizens of this country have lost their properties and they have not been compensated. Even compensation as low as ₹3,000 and ₹5,000 has not been paid for years together. Where is the right to dignified life when you take away someone’s property and not pay compensation? Somewhere down the line somebody has to be sensitive. We have much larger issues of public interest crying for justice,” Justice Seshasayee said.
Concurring with him, Mr. Justice Sathyanarayanan said the State should show the same enthusiasm, as was being shown on constructing memorials and arches, on issues of public importance too. “It is ultimately the taxpayers’ money that is being used and the taxpayers are minuscule. It is only from the salaried class that you collect taxes. Lands could not have been acquired without budgetary allocation. Where does the money go?” he added.