Aavin fails to pull down pavement outlets

By G Saravanan

Published in The New Indian Express, Chennai, on Dec 27, 2011

Source:http://expressbuzz.com/cities/chennai/aavin-fails-to-pull-down-pavement-outlets/347196.html

CHENNAI: Though the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Ltd (Aavin) has admitted that 11 of its franchisee retail outlets (FROs) are being illegally operated on Chennai Corporation’s pavements, it has failed to take any action against them.

As per Aavin’s rules,  applicants for FROs should have place of their own place or a rented premises for operating the facility.  “Admitting the very existence of such FROs on  pavements itself is proof that they are illegal and no action on them for more than four months now shows that the Aavin authorities are not interested in removing them,” R Natarajan, an activist who obtained the information through RTI, told ‘Express’.

It all began more than a year ago when the Corporation authorities failed to remove one such outlet on a pavement near the Sai Baba Temple in Mylapore.

This selective exclusion forced Natarajan to file an RTI petition with Aavin seeking the number of FROs permitted in the city.

“When I asked details about the FROs, Aavin authorities initially refused to part with any information about it, but after repeated pleas, they furnished information on the number of FROs,” Natarajan said.

Though Aavin authorities revealed that Chennai city has more than 150 FROs, they have put the number of illegal FROs at just 11, across the metropolis.

When Natarajan, through RTI, asked about the action taken in the case of such illegal FROs, Aavin authorities replied that they had terminated the licence of one such outlet located near Guindy Race Course Road and similar action had been planned against the remaining outlets.

However, Aavin was showing laxity in dealing with the remaining illegally existing FROs and no action has been taken on them for the past four months, said Natarajan.

“While the Aavin authorities still maintain that action will be taken on them if found to be indulged in running their outlets on encroached lands, I don’t understand why their officials are hesitating to take those running on pavements into account,” he questioned.

With Aavin dilly-dallying on action, Natarajan has moved a petition to the Secretary of Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries Department for a permanent solution.  On the other hand, he has also moved a fresh RTI application to ascertain what was delaying the action by Aavin.