Chennai: Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has asked residents of 21 sea-facing bungalows, houses, and other structures in Neelankarai, Injambakkam and Uthandi to vacate within 15 days, because of violations of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules.GCC will lock and seal the buildings after the deadline; demolition may follow. Earlier, housing and urban development department rejected appeals filed by residents in cases that had remained pending for 10 to 15 years.It has also asked owners of three more houses to rectify FSI violations and deviations. Under CRZ-II regulations, construction is permissible on the landward side of an existing road or approved infrastructure that was in place in 1991. The permissible FSI (floor space index) is 0.8.The affected structures are along East Coast Road, falling under wards 192, 194 and 197. “In some cases where FSI is above 0.8, we have asked the owners to redo the houses. We are continuing to survey the structures alongside the sea, and the idea is to ensure there’s no environmental violation,” a GCC official said.Around 400 owners have approached Madras high court. Another 400 have appealed to housing and urban development department, and the additional secretary is reviewing the cases.GCC had finalised around 700 structures for action as early as 2020, but enforcement was held up owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and later elections. Individual cases were also being heard by courts.Residents, however, say many of the structures were constructed with approvals issued decades ago, at a time when awareness of CRZ regulations was limited.“We’ve spent crores of rupees on the buildings. We’ve been paying property tax, EB and water tax. They should exempt old buildings and prevent newer ones from coming up,” a resident said.
