Reported by K. Manikandan in Thehindu.com on July 18, 2012
The Hindu : Cities / Chennai : 11 years on, prime public property lies idle in Zamin Pallavaram

With an increasing demand for more open spaces that can be of use to the community, residents of Zamin Pallavaram have raised the demand that prime property that is in the control of the local body be developed as a children’s park or used for creating basic infrastructure for improving power or drinking water supply.

A query under provisions of Right to Information Act has revealed that the property in Silver Jubilee Housing Society measuring 1,194 square metres or 12,847 square feet (about 5.3 grounds) of land was gifted to the Pallavaram Municipality as early as 1993. The piece of open land is located on R.K.L. Avenue in Ward No. 12 of the municipality.

However, there has been no improvement work on this patch of land all these years. The RTI query filed by V. Santhanam of Chromepet New Colony confirmed that the piece of land was still in the possession of the municipality ever since it received it as a gift deed.

While confirming that it was earmarked for public purposes, the reply further stated there were no immediate plans to develop it.

Residents of Zamin Pallavaram noted that this was even as there was a severe space crunch which prevented local bodies from creating parks and playfields or building basic infrastructure.

Under such circumstances, losing no time, the municipal administration should create a park for the benefit of children and senior citizens. The residents were also open to using the land for building overhead water tanks and also for constructing a sub-station by Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation for improving power supply in tail-end areas of the municipality.

K.M.R. Nissar Ahmed, Municipal Chairman, said the piece of land would be put to better use for the benefit of residents of Ward No. 12 and nearby localities.

There were plans to create a children’s park in the land, the chairman added.