New police station building will be razed if found built on lake, Madras HC warns Tamil Nadu – Times of India

CHENNAI: The newly built Semmenchery police station will be ordered to be demolished if it is found that the building was constructed on a water body, the Madras high court has said.
“The construction, which has come up, will not be used for any purpose whatsoever without the express previous leave of this court. For the moment, no further money should be expended on the betterment of the building since the building may be directed to be brought down if it is discovered that it has been constructed on land which was originally part of a water body,” said the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy.
“It is imperative that a newly constructed building is brought down, if only for the state to take it as a notice that the further desecration of water bodies will not be condoned or tolerated on any ground whatsoever,” the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy said on Thursday.
The court passed the interim order on a plea moved by NGO Arappor Iyakkam alleging that the police station was constructed on a water body in violation of an order passed by the court.
The bench also directed the IIT-Madras to nominate experts to ascertain the nature of the land on which the police station was built and suggest remedial measures to be taken.
The court also noted that it is equally possible that the petitioner’s apprehension may be unfounded, and the building has been constructed on such part of the land which did not form any part of any water body.
It is necessary that some expert opinion be sought so that that it may be assessed whether the land was once part of water body. For such purpose the director of the IIT (Madras) is requested to nominate two appropriate teachers to conduct a study and to report to this court as to the status of the land where the police station has come up. And suggest remedial measures if such building appears to have come up om a land that was part of a water body,” the judges said.