Coimbatore Corporation on Monday served notices on people who had encroached upon public space in and around the Valankulam tank to move out within the next few days.
Near the Sungam roundabout, the Corporation issued notices to occupants of 52 houses in Eri Medu, on the way to Indira Nagar, to move out in the next 15 days. Sources said the Corporation had told the residents that they needed to move out as the land they had encroached upon was necessary for the completion of flyover on Trichy Road.
An exit ramp from the flyover to the Sungam-Ukkadam Road passed through the area, and the Highways Department that was constructing the flyover needed the land to erect columns, they said.
The Corporation had asked the 52 families to approach the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board within the next 15 days to get alternative accommodation.
On reaching out to the Board, the residents would get temporary allotment of flats in the Board’s Kovaipudur or Vellalore project. They could stay there until the Board completed the Ukkadam Pillukadu project, where they had been allotted flats.
Likewise, the Corporation had served notices on 15 residents in Highways Colony, near the Valankulam tank’s northern bund. Though the residents had built houses as per rules, projects or temporary structures from their houses encroached upon public space. Hence the notice, the sources said and added that the residents had 15 days to act.
Continuing its action against people who had encroached upon the water body, the Corporation had also issued notice to occupants of 15 shops on Burma Shell Lane, off Lanka Corner.
Though the Corporation had issued notices more than six months ago to the 15 persons, they failed to comply with the notice. Now the Corporation had issued a fresh notice, this time giving only three days.
If they failed to act, the civic body by this weekend would remove the structures built encroaching on the tank, the sources added.
Fresh survey
Meanwhile, the Corporation had begun a fresh survey to identify more encroachments on the tank, particularly on its northern bund, as it had received a few complaints that it had removed only temporary structures and not permanent structures that were also encroachments.
If there were encroachments, as alleged, the Corporation would definitely act, the sources added.