RTI forces removal of encroachments

Repro of a news item published on New Indian Express on March 19:

CHENNAI: A relentless campaign launched by an RTI activist and local residents has forced the Chennai Corporation to act remove an encroachment on the eastern corner of the Turn Bulls Road-Chamiers Road junction that has posed as stumbling block to free flow of traffic on the busy stretch.

The disputed spot, located inside the Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) shopping complex along the Turn Bulls Road-Chamiers Road junction was under encroachment for last several years.

It is said that the open space inside in the complex (along the corner of the road) was rented out to run a ‘vegetable shop’, but soon it flourished and become a full-fledged-eatery serving customers of the (now closed) TASMAC shop.

Locals considered the TASMAC outlet on the junction a traffic hazard and petitioned the authorities to remove it, so that the area would be free of such nuisance.

After a nine-month-long battle using RTI tool, we forced the State-owned TASMAC to shut its outlet in that TNHB complex last September and it was the same RTI which helped us to reclaim the area of roughly around 200 sq ft for the public use, R Natarajan, a resident and research scholar told Express.

Though the officials removed the encroachment only after two months of passing the initial demolition order, the victory did not come easily, Natarajan added.To remove the encroachments, he filed his first RTI petition in 2007 with the officials concerned (TNHB), and the battle continued with them since they preferred not to part any ‘useful’ information to the RTI applicant.

Irked with the dilly-dally attitude of the government machinery, Natarajan went on further appeals with them and also got the opportunity to inspect documents related to the disputed spot which clearly mentioned it as a space meant for a public road.

In November 2008, left without any option to delay the process, a top official of the TNHB gave his nod to the removal of encroachment, thus enabling the civic body to clear it for extending the road space.

With an intense campaign by Natarajan to remove the encroachment, the civic body officials last week removed it. It may be noted that the demolition order by the civic body was passed in January.

It is now up to the Corporation to add the reclaimed space to the road-space, so that traffic is eased on the ever-busy stretch, Natarajan added.