Chennai: The Madras High Court has issued a notice to the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) and the Chennai district administration regarding a writ petition that seeks action against the illegal occupation of residential apartments for commercial purposes in the Mannadi area. The petition highlights issues such as illegal parking and the occupation of public roads by commercial vehicles that deal with chemicals, plastic materials, iron, and steel.
Court Proceedings
Admitting the plea on Monday, Justice Abdul Quddhose directed the GCC and the district administration to respond to the petition within four weeks. The court's intervention comes after the petitioner, M Ganesan, represented by advocate R S Raveendhren, brought attention to the widespread practice of renting out ground floors of new buildings for business activities without providing any parking space.
Allegations by the Petitioner
According to the petitioner, the occupants of ground-floor premises have encroached upon public space for parking their vehicles. He stated, "I am given to understand that no sanctions from appropriate authorities have been obtained for letting out the buildings for commercial purposes. Traders and companies dealing with chemicals, plastic materials, iron, and steel have occupied the ground-floor portions on rent, and no space has been left inside these buildings for parking vehicles of other residents who are residing on the first, second, and third floors. They park their vehicles on the street throughout the day."
The petitioner further alleged that vehicles belonging to businessmen who occupy these premises are also parked on the street, and loading vehicles take up a significant amount of road space. He explained that two-wheelers parked perpendicularly occupy about six feet of road space. Since vehicles are parked on both sides of the 20-foot-wide street, they take up approximately 12 feet, leaving less than eight feet for other public road users.
Additionally, the petitioner claimed that truck and other cargo vehicle drivers and loaders verbally abuse residents and other road users when asked to move their vehicles to free up space for others.
