Chennai: Madras high court has restrained the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) from issuing completion certificates in respect of any development in Aquifer Recharge Zones between the Bay of Bengal and the Buckingham Canal in Chennai.The areas that fall under Zones 14 and 15 of the GCC include Kottivakkam, Palavakkam, Neelankarai, Okkiam, Thuraipakkam, Injambakkam Karapakkam, Sholinganallur, and Uthandi.A division bench of Justice S M Subramaniam and Justice R Rajesh Vivekananthan also directed the GCC to not issue completion certificates without prior verification that the development is in accordance with the Tamil Nadu Combined Development and Building Rules.The court passed the interim order on Tuesday, on a PIL moved by Rajinder Kumar, a resident of Mylapore, to direct the GCC to ensure that all developments in the Aquifer Recharge Areas being the areas situated between the Bay of Bengal and the Buckingham Canal in violation of the rules, are removed.“Protection of water bodies is of paramount importance. Allowing construction activities in the prohibited zones are causing infringement of the basic rights of other citizens and to provide infrastructure facilities to the law-abiding citizens in Chennai city,” the court said.The court directed the GCC to enumerate all developments in the Aquifer Recharge Zones to determine the violation of the rules both in respect of construction and in respect of the usage permissible as per the rules. “The GCC commissioner is directed to appoint a monitoring committee to oversee the process of enumeration and ensure that the process of enumeration is concluded preferably within six months,” the bench added.The court then directed the GCC to ensure that all further constructions and building planning permissions are strictly made in accordance with the rules and laws applicable for construction of buildings in the Aquifer Recharge Zones in Chennai.“The GCC commissioner is directed to submit a report regarding the actions taken in respect of the interim order,” the court said.According to the petitioner, GCC authorities are not monitoring the building constructions made in the Aquifer Recharge Zones. Rampant violations are made affecting the water bodies as well as the ground water table.
