Sekarreporter1: [7/28, 07:37] Sekarreporter1: https://twitter.com/sekarreporter1/status/1552475777362366465?t=qebfJrGVtg06He88xenuGg&s=08 [7/28, 07:37] Sekarreporter1: https://m.dinamalar.com/detail.php?id=3073299 [7/28, 07:39] Sekarreporter1: [7/28, 07:37] Sekarreporter1: [7/28, 07:37] Sekarreporter1: https://twitter.com/sekarreporter1/status/1552 [7/28, 07:37] Sekarreporter1: https://m.dinamalar.com/detail.php?id=3073299 [7/28, 07:38] Sekarreporter1: ,908 மாணவர்களுக்கு தலா ரூ.1,000 இழப்பீடு: சி.எம்.டி.ஏ.,வுக்கு தகவல் ஆணையம் உத்தரவு [7/28, 07:39] Sekarreporter1: மாநில தகவல் ஆணையர் எஸ்.முத்துராஜ் பிறப்பித்த

 

[7/28, 07:37] Sekarreporter1: [7/28, 07:37] Sekarreporter1: https://twitter.com/sekarreporter1/status/1552475777362366465?t=qebfJrGVtg06He88xenuGg&s=08
[7/28, 07:37] Sekarreporter1: https://m.dinamalar.com/detail.php?id=3073299
[7/28, 07:39] Sekarreporter1: [7/28, 07:37] Sekarreporter1: [7/28, 07:37] Sekarreporter1: https://twitter.com/sekarreporter1/status/1552
[7/28, 07:37] Sekarreporter1: https://m.dinamalar.com/detail.php?id=3073299
[7/28, 07:38] Sekarreporter1: ,908 மாணவர்களுக்கு தலா ரூ.1,000 இழப்பீடு: சி.எம்.டி.ஏ.,வுக்கு தகவல் ஆணையம் உத்தரவு
[7/28, 07:39] Sekarreporter1: மாநில தகவல் ஆணையர் எஸ்.முத்துராஜ் பிறப்பித்த உத்தரவு: பாரம்பரிய கட்டடங்களை பாதுகாக்கும் பொறுப்பு, சி.எம்.டி.ஏ.,வுக்கு உள்ளது. இந்த பொறுப்பை கவனத்தில் கொள்ளாமல், அதன் அருகில், 14 மாடி கட்டடம் கட்ட, எந்த அடிப்படையில் ஒப்புதல் வழங்கப்பட்டது என்பதில், சி.எம்.டி.ஏ., சரியாக பதில் அளிக்கவில்லை. கட்டுமான திட்டம் அருகில், அது தொடர்பான விபரங்கள் அடங்கிய அறிவிப்பு பலகை வைக்காதது ஏன் என்ற கேள்விக்கும், அதில் எடுக்கப்பட்ட நடவடிக்கைகள் என்ன என்ற கேள்விக்கும், சி.எம்.டி.ஏ., அதிகாரிகளின் பதில் திருப்திகரமாக இல்லை.
[7/28, 07:41] Sekarreporter1: TAMILNADU INFORMATION COMMISSION
No.19, Government Farm Village, Pernpet, Nandanam,
Chennai – 600 035. Tel: 044 29515580

Order Date: 28.04.2022

PRESENT:

Thiru. S. MUTHURAJ, B.A.,B.L.,
STATE INFORMATION COMMISSIONER

Case Numbers: NC1314/D/2021 in SA 1043/D/2019, SA1045/D/2019,
SA 1046/D/2019 & SA 1054/D/2019)

1.Mr. V. Murugesh (SA 1043/D/2019)
2.Mr. R. Vishkia (SA 1045/D/2019)
3.Mr. S. Ganesh (SA 1046/D/2019)
4.Mr. B. Prashant (SA 1054/D/2019) …..Appellants/ Petitioners

/Vs/
1. Public Information Officer, Chief Education officer,
Egmore, chennai – 600 008.

2. Public Information Officer / Head Master
Raja Muthiah High School, Raja Annamalaipuram,
Chennai – 600 028.
..…Public Authorities

ORDER

The above mentioned second appeal cases was heard on
(21.10.2019) and orders was passed. The Petitioners has filed this
Non-compliance Petition registered as NC 1314/D/2021. This present Petition was taken up for hearing today i.e 28.04.2022. During the enquiry the Petitioners and on behalf of the Public Authorities, the Public Information Officer, Personal Assistant to the Chief Educational Officer (Higher Secondary), Chief Education office, Chennai and the Public Information Officers, Headmaster and School Secretary, Chettinad Raja Muthiah High School, Chennai were present.

2. In each of the petitions filed before the Public Information Officer, Chennai District Collectorate under Section 6 (1) of the Right to Information Act 2005, the Petitioner’s has sought certain details pertaining to the Raja Muthiah High School including the infrastructure, playgrounds, teaching sessions, catering details and play time for the students.

3. Petitioners appearing for today’s hearing stated that the Public Authority refused to provide them with some information and also stated that the space allotted for the school are being used for another purpose.
They are the alumnus of Raja Muthiah High School, Raja Annamalaipuram, Chennai, which comes under the Gandhi Nagar Educational Society, Chennai and they also submitted that their school was inaugurated on 09.06.1957 by the former Chief Minister, the Great Leader K. Kamarajar, Raja Annamalai Chettiar, M.A. MuthiahChettiar, resided in the Raja Annamalaipuram, Chettinad House, Chennai, under their administration the Gandhi Nagar Education Society was established, under which the Government aided and private schools are functioning now. Raja Annamalai Chettiar, M.A. MuthiaChettiar and legal heirs has established the same for public welfare purposes but now our school premises are being used for private benefits and also it is to be noted that the present ChettinadVidyashram school is functioning inside the Chettinad House, where our founders once lived, is also used for private purposes and work seems to be underway to construct a new building, which does not appear to be a school building. The Petitioners also appealed to the Commission to direct the Respondents to inform them about the kind of building is proposed to be constructed.

4. Based on the above information, this Commission gone through the CMDA website and observed the following, “As per the High Rise Buildings Planning Permission Approval Details -2021, the applicant is
M/s Raja MuthaiahChettiar charitable Trust, represented by GPA ThiruM.A.MR.Muthiah, No. 603, Anna Salai Thousand Light, Chennai , Site address: Thandavarayan Street, Duraisamy Dinakaran Road, R.A.Puram, Chennai -28 bearing RS No.4277/6, Block No.93 of Mylapore Village and the Proposed Construction: The PPA for the proposed construction of High Rise Building for Commercial purpose consisting of extended Double Basement Floor: Parking+Ground Floor+2Floors, Shop, Hotel & Rooms and 3rd to 8th Floor +9th Floor(Part) +10th Floor(Part)+ 11th Floor (part) +12th Floor(Part) +13th Floor(Part)+ 14th Floor(Part) Office.” It was also found that the proposed construction is to happen inside Chettinad House, in front of the entrance arch.

5. The buildings which were built before Independence in Chennai Beach Road ahead of Ennore such as Beach Railway Station, Madras High
Court Building, Secretariat (Fort St. George), Madras University, Light House, Santhome Church, Chettinad House, Theosophical Society @ Adyar especially Adyar river joining with the Bay of Bengal (one extreme is Chettinad House another extreme is Theosophical Society) are some of the existing heritage Buildings. In order to protect the heritage buildings in Chennai the Hon’ble First Bench of the Madras High Court in a batch of writ petitions relating to hoardings, viz. W.P. Nos. 7143 of 2006 etc. [Kanagaraj vs. the District Collector Chennai], by its order dated
10.8.2006, appointed a Committee headed by Hon’ble Retired Justice E.Padmanabhan, Former Judge of the Madras High Court to survey, identify and enumerate places of historical importance/aesthetic value/popular places of worship in and around the city of Chennai.

6. This Committee has chosen historic and commercial/institutional buildings of socio-cultural and aesthetic value. This Committee has also collected information for enumerating such buildings from various Government Departments and has recognized 467 buildings in Chennai as heritage buildings and has also assigned grades to buildings/places according to their level of importance. The Chettinad House is given ‘2A Grade’ in the said report vide Sl. no: 427, Adyar Area.

7. The Hon’ble Madras High Court vide its order dated 29.04.2010, in a writ petition relating to the demolishing Bharath Insurance Building (The Indian National Trust for Architectural and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) vs. The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority and Ors) among other directions had also issued directions to the Government to take up the job of listing such of those buildings enumerated under Grade-2A and Grade-2B in the report filed by the Committee headed by Justice E.Padmanabhan, after getting the opinion of the Heritage Conservation Committee regarding the desirability of notifying such buildings as heritage buildings.

8. In compliance with the above orders, the CMDA vide its office order No: 22/2010 Dated: 09.09.2010, issued certain instructions wherein it has been stated that the Master Plan unit has already initiated action to issue Show cause notices to the owner of the Private building listed in the Justice E. Padmanabhan committee’s report. It has further directed the Area Plans Unit to take into account the above Hon’ble High Court’s order at the time of processing of planning permission Applications related to these buildings contained in the report.

9. Subsequently, the Tamil Nadu Heritage Commission Act, 2012 (Tamil Nadu Act 24 of 2012), was enacted to protect the buildings or premises not covered under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (Central Act 24 of 1958) and the Tamil Nadu Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1966 (Tamil Nadu Act 25 of 1966).The object of this Act is to constitute a Statutory Authority to advise in the matters relating to identification, restoration and preservation of heritage building and in the matters relating to the development and engineering operations which are likely to affect any heritage building.

10. The other heritage buildings in Chennai are presently used for the public purposes only (example Railway Station, Bank, Court Buildings, Secretariat, Government Offices, Education Institution, Temples, Churches, Mosques, Private Buildings and other buildings), but the following two buildings are used as residence (Palace like House) which were built over a 100 years ago.

1. Amir Mahal (official residence of Princess of Arcot) and;
2. Chettinad House

Thus, this Chettinad House is a symbol of, a man’s hard work and even today it portrays that any Citizen with good education and tremendous effort can reach any heights.

11. Mr.Raja Annamalai Chettiar, who built the Chettinad House, had also started the Annamalai University and educated the students. He was the founder of the Indian Bank and his sons Mr. M.A.MuthaihChettiar was a member of the constituent assembly. He was the first Mayor of Chennai in 1933 (then called Madras). He was the Chief Whip and Legislative Assembly Chairman of the Justice Party, He was appointed as the Minister of Education in 1936 and in 1943 he also served as President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. He was interested in the study of Tamil language, literature, music and culture. His services to the Tamil cause earned him the title of Tamil Isai Kavalar. Further, Thiru. M.A. Ramanathan Chettiar and Thiru. M.A. Chidambaram Chettiar served as Former Mayor of Chennai, ThiruM.A.M.Ramasamy served as Member of Parliament and all of them were Chairman/ Members of the South Indian Chamber of Commerce.

12. Presently ChettinadVidhyashramam, ChettinadVidhyalaya Schools are functioning with 7908 students inside Chettinad House where so many great men lived. Such a Heritage building and entrance arch must be preserved. Present High Rise Buildings Planning Permission has been granted by CMDA within this Chettinad House where these great men once lived.

13. The Objective of the RTI Act, 2005 is to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority.
It is pertinent to mention that the Public Authority has to consider all the relevant factors prior to giving permission to any application received and it must also consider all the obstacles or hurdles that would arise if the permission is granted and whether if it violates any General Act, rules or regulations.
For an example, in the present case High Rise building permission was granted to build Hotel and Rooms which implies that this building is eligible to get Bar Licence. As per Prohibition and Excise Act and Tamil Nadu Liquor (Licence and Permit Rules, 1981) the Government of Tamil Nadu has Banned to sell any liquor or any other Tobacco items near the School areas. The present building comes inside the campus of Chettinad Vidhyashram and the same aspect must be considered by the public authority prior to giving permission.

14. For an example, the Hindu Succession Act provides for right to inherit the property. Whereas, in contrast, killing the owner of the property or the shareholders of the property, creates an embargo in getting the share in the property, as per the very same Act. It is to be further observed that, as a general practice, certificates of succession are issued by the Department of Revenue and records pertaining to land are maintained by both Registration Department and Revenue Department. Whereas, crime records relating to the heirs of the property, who committed such a grievous offence are available only with the Police and Judiciary departments. If a coparcener is found guilty, the same is not communicated to the Revenue and Registration Departments, in majority of the cases, to amend the land records accordingly. Further, it is not known to the general public that, they will forfeit their rights in the inherited property, if they commit such a grave offence. If such information is known to the public, offences pertaining to property will be steeply reduced. There are many problems in practice with the transfer of such information within the management system. If, the Public Authorities act as a body that gathers all the relevant information, before making any appropriate decisions, there may be substantial decline in the litigation.

15. Chapter II of the RTI Act, 2005 sets out the provisions with regard to Right to Information and Obligations of Public Authorities, Section 4(1)(c) and (d) of the RTI Act enumerates the public authority to publish all relevant facts while formulating important policies or announcing the decisions which affect public and to provide reasons for its administrative or quasi-judicial decisions to affected persons.

16. Since, this high rise building is proposed to construct inside the Chettinad House, where these great legends have lived, the onus to preserve such a Heritage building including their honours casts upon the organizations, where they served during their tenure. Thus, this Commission directs the Member Secretary,
Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA);

To provide the information to the Authorities which these distinguished man served, and also to their heirs regarding this High Rise Buildings which are being constructed within the Heritage type Chettinand House:

● Mr.M.A.M.Muttiah Chettiar was a member of the Constituent Assembly responsible for drafting the Constitution of India and he was also a Member of the Madras Legislative Council, Chief Whip of the Legislative Assembly, Chairman of the Justice Party, Former Minister of Education and Public Health. As the Government is protecting and maintaining the places where the best who have served the Nation lived, Mr. M.A MuthiahChettiar as stated supra, was holding many constitutional posts and he has also served in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and thus, inform the Secretary to the Legislative Assembly and the Chief Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu for preserving this Heritage Chettinad house and Entrance Arch.

● Inform the Heritage Commission since, the Tamil Nadu Heritage Commission is working to protect the Heritage Building.

● Inform the legal heirs of Thiru. Raja Annamalai Chettiar, ThiruM.A.MuthiahChettiar, ThiruM.A.RamanathanChettiar and ThiruM.A.Chidambaram.

● Thiru. Raja Annamalai Chettiar, ThiruM.A.MuthiahChettiar, ThiruM.A.RamanathanChettiar and Thiru M.A. Chidambaram Chettiar also served as the Chairman / Members of the South Indian Chamber of Commerce, thus it just and fair to inform them, as this organization has contributed a lot towards the economic development of Tamil Nadu.

● Since,ThiruM.A.MuthiahChettiar,ThiruM.A.RamanathanChetti ar and ThiruM.A.ChidambaramChettiar also served as the Mayor’s of the Corporation of Madras, and most of the works pertaining to the Corporation is executed by CMDA. The Commissioner of the Chennai Corporation is also a member of the CMDA, it is just and fair to inform the Chairman, Vicechairman and members of the CMDA.

17. As per section 19(8) of the RTI Act, this Commission is vested with powers to direct the Public Authority to compensate the aggrieved persons under the RTI Act and also it is to be observed that, the Local Authority of Chennai in its circular vide W.D.C.No.D2/0696-2/2019 provided the following instructions;

“In the reference cited proceedings it has been informed:

“To incorporate a condition in the planning permission building permit being issued instructing the applicants /developers promoters to erect a display board of a minimum size of 60 cm x 120 cm.”

In the reference (2) cited circular, it has been reiterated to take strict enforcement actions to ensure applicants/ developers/ Promoters exhibit the display board at the construction sites.

It has been noticed that the display boards is not being displayed at the construction sites.”

In the instant case, it is evident that, no such display board was found in place which is a clear violation of the above mentioned Circular and the object of RTI Act. This violation has substantially affected the Petitioners, Students and Parents of the students studying in these Schools. From the website of the ChettinadVidhyashram it is found that the present student strength is about 7908 as per CBSE student details. When the Building Planning permission seekers do not comply with the specific guidelines issued in the Circular these students and their parents do not know what is happening within the premises of the school campus which would affect the students at large and hence they will be the ultimate sufferers. The CMDA after issuing plan permission must have also ensured that the Display Board is to be displayed in the site.

This Commission hereby directs the Member Secretary, CMDA to give explanation as to why this commission must not impose a cost on CMDA and other concerned Authorities for a sum of Rs.1000 to each student amounting to Rs.79,08,000 (Rs.1000 × 7908) for the above said denying information.

18. As the ultimate and direct sufferers owing to the above construction activities are going to be the Students;

This Commission hereby directs the Principal, ChettinadVidhyashram, Chettinad House, Raja Annamalaipuram, Chennai- 600028 to give information and to the parents of the students in his school about the following problems caused by the construction activities inside the Chettinad House where their school is located.

The Dust Pollution, Air Pollution that is going to occur due to the construction activities of 13+part Floors High Rise Buildings. Further assuming that the building is approximately 10000 sqft per floor, 13×10000 = 1,30,000 sqft. This large building requires an average of 100 sqft 1 ton of AC. So 13,000 tons of AC is required (A ton, as used in the HVAC field, is a term that describes how much heat the AC unit can remove from a home in one hour. The measurement for heat is the British thermal unit (BTU). One ton of air conditioning can remove 12,000 BTUs of air per hour.) 156000000 BTU heat will be emitted. As it is this heat will attack the school students and cause them great harm, so Principal ChettinadVidhyashram and Vidhyalaya Schools are ordered to provide this information to the parents of the students. Let the parents decide if the students should continue in the school.

With the above directions, this case is further adjourned to 16.06.2022 @ 3.00 PM in order to provide relevant information as sought by the Petitioners and further orders.

********

Order Date: 16.06.2022

1. Further, this Case was taken up for hearing today on 16.06.2022. During the enquiry the Petitioner and on behalf of the Public Authorities, the Public Information Officer, Personal Assistant to the Chief Educational Officer, Chief Education office, Chennai and the Public Information Officers, Headmaster (I/c), Chettinad Raja Muthiah High School, Chennai and the Public Information Officer / Thiru. R. Saravanan, Chennai Metropolitan Development Corporation(“CMDA”), Egmore, Chennai, were present. However, the Principal, Chettinad Vidhyashramam, Chettinad House, Raja Annamalaipuram, Chennai was not present for today’s hearing. Registry of this Commission, is hereby directed to issue explanation notice to the Principal for his nonappearance.

2. The CMDA vide its letter No. G/PIO/4957/2022 dated 15.06.2022 has submitted a parawise explanation to this Commission’s order dated 28.04.2022(“Order”).

3. From perusal of the above letter, it is observed that the CMDA has not provided the information to the Authorities, as directed by this Commission in its Order. Whereas, in contrast the CMDA vaguely submits that the proposed construction is not within the heritage precincts of the Chettinad House.

4. Further CMDA has stated in their letter that, “…As the Display Board is not enacted in the prescribed format CMDA issued show cause notice in CMDA letter no. EC/S-I/8932/2022 dated 15.06.2022″(i.e.,a day before this hearing). Moreover, a photocopy submitted by CMDA, portraying the display board erected at site, is dated 16.06.2022,which is evident to show the failure on the part of authorities in ensuring erection of display board at site.

5. It is to be noted that, the place where these high rise building is proposed to be constructed, is well within the premises where the heritage Building Chettinad House is situated. It is pertinent to mention that, starting from the entrance arch, the entire premises is construed as a Contiguous land, where these legends once lived. But subsequently the same has been partitioned in due course of time. However this partition, which is available only in papers, does not take away the sanctity of the heritage site, which was also a part of the Chettinad House at that time.

6. Further it can be observed from the addressee mentioned in the show cause notice and the photocopy of the display board erected at site that, the Rajah Muthiah Chettiar Charitable and Educational Trust is the proposed Constructor/Promotor of the mentioned high rise building. The CMDA authorities has failed to do proper due diligence of the facts and that’s how an educational trust has acquired permission to build a commercial Building hotel within the premises of a school building, this further portrays that the CMDA has issued permission mechanically and without application of minds.

7. Not being satisfied with the explanations given by the CMDA, this Commission issues following orders,

i) The Vice Chairman/Member Secretary of Chennai
Metropolitan Development Authority is hereby directed to pay the compensation, as per Section- 19 (8) of the RTI Act, 2005,to the aggrieved students, who are the ultimate sufferers due to nonavailability of information by erecting display board, at a sum of Rs.1000 to each student amounting to Rs.79,08,000 (Rs.1000 × 7908 no. of students), as explained in the earlier Order, within a period of one month from the date of receipt of this order and report compliance to this Commission.

It is to be noted that in today’s digital era, substantial number of transactions are made online, the fees for availing many Government services can be paid online and even the schools are collecting fees from the parents through online mode. Hence the Chief Accounts Officer of CMDA in consultation with the Chief Educational officer, Chennai may decide upon the mode of paying the compensation.

ii) The Member Secretary of CMDA, during the course of hearing unconditionally accepts to disclose the information to the Authorities as directed by this Commission in Para 16 of the earlier Order. Hence, the Member Secretary is hereby directed to ensure the same and report the compliance to this Commission.

8. Moreover, this Commission was constituted by the Parliament under the Right to Information Act, 2005 for enhancing the principles enshrined under the Indian Constitution. Further, these legends have served in the Constituent Assembly, even though the CMDA has not complied with the Order, this Commission has accountability in flow of information. Thus, the information pertaining to the proposed construction of high rise building within the Chettinad House heritage site is hereby intimated to the Public Information Officer of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, Secretariat, Chennai-9for the grounds stated in Para- 16 of the earlier Order.

9. With the above directions, this case is further adjourned to
28.07.2022 @ 3.00 PM for reporting compliance.

Sd/-(S. MUTHURAJ)
State Information Commissioner
(By order of the Commission)

Section Officer

Case Numbers: NC1314/D/2021 in SA1043/D/2019,
SA1045/D/2019, SA1046/D/2019 & SA 1054/D/2019)

Public Authority: – 1. The Vice Chairman,
Chennai Metropolitan Development Corporation,
Thalamuthu Natarajan House,
No.1, Gandhi Irwin Road, Egmore, Chennai-600 008.

2. The Member Secretary,
Chennai Metropolitan Development Corporation,
Thalamuthu Natarajan House,
No.1, Gandhi Irwin Road, Egmore, Chennai-600 008.

3. The Principal,
ChettinadVidhyashramam,
Chettinad House, Raja Annamalaipuram, Chennai- 600 028.

4. Public Information Officer, O/o. Chief Educational officer, Chennai.

Copy to:
Public Information Officer, Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, Secretariat, Chennai – 600 009.

Petitioners :

1) Mr.V. Murugesh,
City Organizer, All India Students Welfare Association,
No.43/68, Second Cross Street,
South KesavaPerumalpuram, Greenways Road, Chennai-600 028.

2) Mr. R. Vishkia,
No.12, Shanmugapuram,
Raja Annamalaipuram, Chennai-600 028.

3) Mr. S. Ganesh,
Old No.289, New No.330, KVB Garden, R.A.Puram, Chennai-600 028.

4) Mr. B. Prasanth,
No.51/44, Ramasamy Garden, Arunachalapuram, Adyar, Chennai-600 020.

மனுதார கள் கவனத்திற்கு
RTI மனுக்கள்மூலம் மாவட்ட அலுவலகங்களில் ெபறப்படேவண்டிய தகவல்கைள ேநரடியாக ெசன்ைனதைலைம ச்ெசயலகம் மற்றும் தைலைம அலுவலகங்களுக்கு அனுப்பப்படுகிறது .
இதைனத்தவித்து ,
RTI மனுக்கைளசம்மந்தப்பட்ட அலுவலகத்திற்கு அனுப்பவும் , பின்பு ேமல்முைறயடுகள்ீ ெசய்யவும் ேகட்டுக்ெகாள்ளப்படுகிறது. இதனால்அரசு ெபாது அதிகார அைமப்புகளுக்குஏற்படும் பணிச்சுைம மற்றும் நிதிச்சுைம தவிக்கப்படும்.

ெபாது தகவல் அலுவல கள் கவனத்திற்கு:

ெபாது அதிகார அைமப்புகள் தகவல் ெபறும் உைமச் சட்டத்தின் கீழ் வழங்கும் தகவல்களின் நகல்கைள (Copies) ஆைணயத்திற்கும், உயஅலுவலகங்களுக்கும் அனுப்புவைத தவிக்கவும் . நகல்கள் (Copies) ேமல்முைறயட்டின்ீ மீதான விசாரைணயின் ேபாது சமப்பித்தால் ேபாதுமானது .
இதனால்அரசு ெபாது அதிகார அைமப்புகளுக்குஏற்படும் பணிச்சுைம மற்றும் நிதிச்சுைம
தவிக்கப்படும்.

TAMILNADU INFORMATION COMMISSION

No.19, Government Farm Village, Pernpet, Nandanam,

Chennai – 600 035. Tel: 044 29515580

 

Order Date: 28.04.2022

 

PRESENT:

 

Thiru. S. MUTHURAJ, B.A.,B.L.,

STATE INFORMATION COMMISSIONER

 

Case Numbers: NC1314/D/2021 in SA 1043/D/2019,  SA1045/D/2019,

SA 1046/D/2019 & SA 1054/D/2019)

 

1.Mr. V. Murugesh  (SA 1043/D/2019)

2.Mr. R. Vishkia  (SA 1045/D/2019)

3.Mr. S. Ganesh  (SA 1046/D/2019)

4.Mr. B. Prashant  (SA 1054/D/2019)               …..Appellants/ Petitioners

 

/Vs/

1. Public Information Officer, Chief Education officer,

Egmore, chennai – 600 008.

 

2. Public Information Officer / Head Master

Raja Muthiah High School,     Raja Annamalaipuram,

Chennai – 600 028.

..…Public  Authorities

 

ORDER

 

The above mentioned second appeal cases was heard on

(21.10.2019) and orders was passed. The Petitioners has filed this

Non-compliance Petition registered as NC 1314/D/2021. This present Petition was taken up for hearing today i.e 28.04.2022.  During the enquiry the Petitioners and on behalf of the Public Authorities, the Public Information Officer, Personal Assistant to the Chief Educational Officer (Higher Secondary), Chief Education office, Chennai and the Public Information Officers, Headmaster and School Secretary, Chettinad Raja Muthiah High School, Chennai were present.

 

 

2. In each of the petitions filed before the Public Information Officer, Chennai District Collectorate under Section 6 (1) of the Right to Information Act 2005, the Petitioner’s has sought certain details pertaining to the Raja Muthiah High School including the infrastructure, playgrounds, teaching sessions, catering details and play time for the students.

 

3. Petitioners appearing for today’s hearing stated that the Public Authority refused to provide them with some information and also stated that the space allotted for the school are being used for another purpose.

They are the alumnus of Raja Muthiah High School, Raja Annamalaipuram, Chennai, which comes under the Gandhi Nagar Educational Society, Chennai and they also submitted that their school was inaugurated on 09.06.1957 by the former Chief Minister, the Great Leader K. Kamarajar, Raja Annamalai Chettiar,     M.A. MuthiahChettiar, resided in the Raja Annamalaipuram, Chettinad House, Chennai,  under their administration the Gandhi Nagar Education Society was established, under which the Government aided and private schools are functioning now. Raja Annamalai Chettiar, M.A. MuthiaChettiar and legal heirs has established the same for public welfare purposes but now our school premises are being used for private benefits and also it is to be noted that the present ChettinadVidyashram school is functioning inside the Chettinad House, where our founders once lived, is also used for private purposes and work seems to be underway to construct a new building, which does not appear to be a school building. The Petitioners also appealed to the Commission to direct the Respondents to inform them about the kind of building is proposed to be constructed.

 

4. Based on the above information, this Commission gone through the CMDA website and observed the following, “As per the High Rise Buildings Planning Permission Approval Details -2021, the applicant is

M/s Raja MuthaiahChettiar charitable Trust, represented by GPA       ThiruM.A.MR.Muthiah, No. 603, Anna Salai Thousand Light, Chennai , Site address: Thandavarayan Street, Duraisamy Dinakaran Road, R.A.Puram, Chennai -28 bearing RS No.4277/6, Block No.93 of Mylapore Village and the Proposed Construction: The PPA for the proposed construction of High Rise Building for Commercial purpose consisting of extended Double Basement Floor: Parking+Ground Floor+2Floors, Shop, Hotel & Rooms and 3rd to 8th Floor +9th Floor(Part) +10th Floor(Part)+ 11th Floor (part) +12th Floor(Part) +13th Floor(Part)+ 14th Floor(Part) Office.”   It was also found that the proposed construction is to happen inside Chettinad House, in front of the entrance arch.

 

 

 

5. The buildings which were built before Independence in Chennai Beach Road ahead of Ennore such as Beach Railway Station, Madras High

Court Building, Secretariat (Fort St. George), Madras University, Light House, Santhome Church, Chettinad House, Theosophical Society @ Adyar especially Adyar river joining with the Bay of Bengal (one extreme is Chettinad House another extreme is Theosophical Society) are some of the existing heritage Buildings. In order to protect the heritage buildings in Chennai the Hon’ble First Bench of the Madras High Court in a batch of writ petitions relating to hoardings, viz. W.P. Nos. 7143 of 2006 etc. [Kanagaraj vs. the District Collector Chennai], by its order dated

10.8.2006, appointed a Committee headed by Hon’ble Retired Justice     E.Padmanabhan, Former Judge of the Madras High Court to survey, identify and enumerate places of historical importance/aesthetic value/popular places of worship in and around the city of Chennai.

 

6. This Committee has chosen historic and commercial/institutional buildings of socio-cultural and aesthetic value. This Committee has also collected information for enumerating such buildings from various Government Departments and has recognized 467 buildings in Chennai as heritage buildings and has also assigned grades to buildings/places according to their level of importance. The Chettinad House is given ‘2A Grade’ in the said report vide Sl. no: 427, Adyar Area.

 

7. The Hon’ble Madras High Court vide its order dated 29.04.2010, in a writ petition relating to the demolishing Bharath Insurance Building (The Indian National Trust for Architectural and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) vs. The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority and Ors) among other directions had also issued directions to the Government to take up the job of listing such of those buildings enumerated under Grade-2A and Grade-2B in the report filed by the Committee headed by Justice E.Padmanabhan, after getting the opinion of the Heritage Conservation Committee regarding the desirability of notifying such buildings as heritage buildings.

 

8. In compliance with the above orders, the CMDA vide its office order No: 22/2010 Dated: 09.09.2010, issued certain instructions wherein it has been stated that the Master Plan unit has already initiated action to issue Show cause notices to the owner of the Private building listed in the Justice E. Padmanabhan committee’s report. It has further directed the Area Plans Unit to take into account the above Hon’ble High Court’s order at the time of processing of planning permission Applications related to these buildings contained in the report.

 

 

9. Subsequently, the Tamil Nadu Heritage Commission Act, 2012 (Tamil Nadu Act 24 of 2012), was enacted to protect the buildings or premises not covered under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (Central Act 24 of 1958) and the Tamil Nadu Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1966 (Tamil Nadu Act 25 of 1966).The object of this Act is to constitute a Statutory Authority to advise in the matters relating to identification, restoration and preservation of heritage building and in the matters relating to the development and engineering operations which are likely to affect any heritage building.

 

10. The other heritage buildings in Chennai are presently used for the public purposes only (example Railway Station, Bank, Court Buildings, Secretariat, Government Offices, Education Institution, Temples, Churches, Mosques, Private Buildings and other buildings), but the following two buildings are used as residence (Palace like House) which were built over a 100 years ago.

 

1. Amir Mahal (official residence of Princess of Arcot) and;
2. Chettinad House

 

Thus, this Chettinad House is a symbol of, a man’s hard work and even today it portrays that any Citizen with good education and tremendous effort can reach any heights.

 

 

11. Raja Annamalai Chettiar, who built the Chettinad House, had also started the Annamalai University and educated the students. He was the founder of the Indian Bank and his sons Mr. M.A.MuthaihChettiar was a member of the constituent assembly. He was the first Mayor of Chennai in 1933 (then called Madras). He was the Chief Whip and Legislative Assembly Chairman of the Justice Party, He was appointed as the Minister of Education in 1936 and in 1943 he also served as President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. He was interested in the study of Tamil language, literature, music and culture. His services to the Tamil cause earned him the title of Tamil Isai Kavalar. Further, Thiru. M.A. Ramanathan Chettiar and    Thiru. M.A. Chidambaram Chettiar served as Former Mayor of Chennai, ThiruM.A.M.Ramasamy served as Member of Parliament and all of them were Chairman/ Members of the South Indian Chamber of Commerce.

 

12. Presently ChettinadVidhyashramam, ChettinadVidhyalaya Schools are functioning with 7908 students inside Chettinad House where so many great men lived. Such a Heritage building and entrance arch must be preserved. Present High Rise Buildings Planning Permission has been granted by CMDA within this Chettinad House where these great men once lived.

 

13. The Objective of the RTI Act, 2005 is to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority.

It is pertinent to mention that the Public Authority has to consider all the relevant factors prior to giving permission to any application received and it must also consider all the obstacles or hurdles that would arise if the permission is granted and whether if it violates any General  Act, rules or regulations.

For an example, in the present case High Rise building permission was granted to build Hotel and Rooms which implies that this building is eligible to get Bar Licence.  As per Prohibition and Excise Act and Tamil Nadu Liquor (Licence and Permit Rules, 1981) the Government of Tamil Nadu has Banned to sell any liquor or any other Tobacco items near the School areas. The present building comes inside the campus of Chettinad Vidhyashram and the same aspect must be considered by the public authority prior to giving permission.

 

14. For an example, the Hindu Succession Act provides for right to inherit the property. Whereas, in contrast, killing the owner of the property or the shareholders of the property, creates an embargo in getting the share in the property, as per the very same Act. It is to be further observed that, as a general practice, certificates of succession are issued by the Department of Revenue and records pertaining to land are maintained by both Registration Department and Revenue Department. Whereas, crime records relating to the heirs of the property, who committed such a grievous offence are available only with the Police and Judiciary departments. If a coparcener is found guilty, the same is not communicated to the Revenue and Registration Departments, in majority of the cases, to amend the land records accordingly. Further, it is not known to the general public that, they will forfeit their rights in the inherited property, if they commit such a grave offence. If such information is known to the public, offences pertaining to property will be steeply reduced. There are many problems in practice with the transfer of such information within the management system. If, the Public Authorities act as a body that gathers all the relevant information, before making any appropriate decisions, there may be substantial decline in the litigation.

 

15. Chapter II of the RTI Act, 2005 sets out the provisions with regard to Right to Information and Obligations of Public Authorities, Section 4(1)(c) and (d) of the RTI Act enumerates the public authority to publish all relevant facts while formulating important policies or announcing the decisions which affect public and to provide reasons for its administrative or quasi-judicial decisions to affected persons.

 

 

 

16. Since, this high rise building is proposed to construct inside the Chettinad House, where these great legends have lived, the onus to preserve such a Heritage building including their honours casts upon the organizations, where they served during their tenure. Thus, this Commission directs the Member Secretary,

Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA);

 

To provide the information to the Authorities which these distinguished man served, and also to their heirs regarding this High Rise Buildings which are being constructed within the Heritage type Chettinand House:

 

• M.A.M.Muttiah Chettiar was a member of the Constituent Assembly responsible for drafting the Constitution of India and he was also a Member of the Madras Legislative Council, Chief Whip of the Legislative Assembly, Chairman of the Justice Party, Former Minister of Education and Public Health. As the Government is protecting and maintaining the places where the best who have served the Nation lived, Mr.  M.A MuthiahChettiar as stated supra, was holding many constitutional posts and he has also served in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and thus, inform the Secretary to the Legislative Assembly and the Chief Secretary to the Government of Tamil Nadu for preserving this Heritage Chettinad house and Entrance Arch.

 

• Inform the Heritage Commission since, the Tamil Nadu Heritage Commission is working to protect the Heritage Building.

 

• Inform the legal heirs of Thiru. Raja Annamalai Chettiar, ThiruM.A.MuthiahChettiar, ThiruM.A.RamanathanChettiar and ThiruM.A.Chidambaram.

 

• Raja Annamalai Chettiar, ThiruM.A.MuthiahChettiar, ThiruM.A.RamanathanChettiar and Thiru M.A. Chidambaram Chettiar also served as the Chairman / Members of the South Indian Chamber of Commerce, thus it just and fair to inform them, as this organization has contributed a lot towards the economic development of Tamil Nadu.

 

• Since,ThiruM.A.MuthiahChettiar,ThiruM.A.RamanathanChetti ar and ThiruM.A.ChidambaramChettiar also served as the Mayor’s of the Corporation of Madras, and most of the works pertaining to the Corporation is executed by CMDA. The Commissioner of the Chennai Corporation is also a member of the CMDA, it is just and fair to inform the Chairman, Vicechairman and members of the CMDA.

 

 

17. As per section 19(8) of the RTI Act, this Commission is vested with powers to direct the Public Authority to compensate the aggrieved persons under the RTI Act and also it is to be observed that, the Local Authority of Chennai in its circular vide W.D.C.No.D2/0696-2/2019 provided the following instructions;

 

“In the reference cited proceedings it has been informed:

 

“To incorporate a condition in the planning permission building permit being issued instructing the applicants /developers promoters to erect a display board of a minimum size of 60 cm x 120 cm.”

 

In the reference (2) cited circular, it has been reiterated to take strict enforcement actions to ensure applicants/ developers/ Promoters exhibit the display board at the construction sites.

 

It has been noticed that the display boards is not being displayed at the construction sites.”

 

In the instant case, it is evident that, no such display board was found in place which is a clear violation of the above mentioned Circular and the object of RTI Act. This violation has substantially affected the Petitioners, Students and Parents of the students studying in these Schools. From the website of the ChettinadVidhyashram it is found that the present student strength is about 7908 as per CBSE student details. When the Building Planning permission seekers do not comply with the specific guidelines issued in the Circular these students and their parents do not know what is happening within the premises of the school campus which would affect the students at large and hence they will be the ultimate sufferers. The CMDA after issuing plan permission must have also ensured that the Display Board is to be displayed in the site.

 

This Commission hereby directs the Member Secretary, CMDA to give explanation as to why this commission must not impose a cost on CMDA and other concerned Authorities for a sum of Rs.1000 to each student amounting to Rs.79,08,000 (Rs.1000 × 7908) for the above said denying information.

 

 

 

18. As the ultimate and direct sufferers owing to the above construction activities are going to be the Students;

 

This Commission hereby directs the Principal, ChettinadVidhyashram, Chettinad House, Raja Annamalaipuram, Chennai- 600028 to give information and to the parents of the students in his school about the following problems caused by the construction activities inside the Chettinad House where their school is located.

 

The Dust Pollution, Air Pollution that is going to occur due to the  construction activities of 13+part Floors High Rise Buildings. Further assuming that the building is approximately 10000 sqft per floor, 13×10000 = 1,30,000 sqft. This large building requires an average of 100 sqft 1 ton of AC.  So 13,000 tons of AC is required (A ton, as used in the HVAC field, is a term that describes how much heat the AC unit can remove from a home in one hour. The measurement for heat is the British thermal unit (BTU). One ton of air conditioning can remove 12,000 BTUs of air per hour.) 156000000 BTU heat will be emitted. As it is this heat will attack the school students and cause them great harm, so Principal ChettinadVidhyashram and Vidhyalaya Schools are ordered to provide this information to the parents of the students.  Let the parents decide if the students should continue in the school.

 

With the above directions, this case is further adjourned to 16.06.2022 @ 3.00 PM in order to provide relevant information as sought by the Petitioners and further orders.

 

 

********

 

Order Date: 16.06.2022

 

 

1. Further, this Case was taken up for hearing today on 16.06.2022. During the enquiry the Petitioner and on behalf of the Public Authorities, the Public Information Officer, Personal Assistant to the Chief Educational Officer, Chief Education office, Chennai and the Public Information Officers, Headmaster (I/c), Chettinad Raja Muthiah High School, Chennai and the Public Information Officer / Thiru. R. Saravanan, Chennai Metropolitan Development Corporation(“CMDA”), Egmore, Chennai, were present. However, the Principal, Chettinad Vidhyashramam, Chettinad House, Raja Annamalaipuram, Chennai was not present for today’s hearing. Registry of this Commission, is hereby directed to issue explanation notice to the Principal for his nonappearance.

 

2. The CMDA vide its letter No. G/PIO/4957/2022 dated 15.06.2022 has submitted a parawise explanation to this Commission’s order dated 28.04.2022(“Order”).

 

 

3. From perusal of the above letter, it is observed that the CMDA has not provided the information to the Authorities, as directed by this Commission in its Order. Whereas, in contrast the CMDA vaguely submits that the proposed construction is not within the heritage precincts of the Chettinad House.

 

4. Further CMDA has stated in their letter that, “…As the Display Board is not enacted in the prescribed format CMDA issued show cause notice in CMDA letter no. EC/S-I/8932/2022 dated 15.06.2022″(i.e.,a day before this hearing). Moreover, a photocopy submitted by CMDA, portraying the display board erected at site, is dated 16.06.2022,which is evident to show the failure on the part of authorities in ensuring erection of display board at site.

 

5. It is to be noted that, the place where these high rise building is proposed to be constructed, is well within the premises where the heritage Building Chettinad House is situated. It is pertinent to mention that, starting from the entrance arch, the entire premises is construed as a Contiguous land, where these legends once lived. But subsequently the same has been partitioned in due course of time. However this partition, which is available only in papers, does not take away the sanctity of the heritage site, which was also a part of the Chettinad House at that time.

 

6. Further it can be observed from the addressee mentioned in the show cause notice and the photocopy of the display board erected at site that, the Rajah Muthiah Chettiar Charitable and Educational Trust is the proposed Constructor/Promotor of the mentioned high rise building. The CMDA authorities has failed to do proper due diligence of the facts and that’s how an educational trust has acquired permission to build a commercial Building hotel within the premises of a school building, this further portrays that the CMDA has issued permission mechanically and without application of minds.

 

7. Not being satisfied with the explanations given by the CMDA, this Commission issues following orders,

 

1. The Vice Chairman/Member Secretary of Chennai

Metropolitan Development Authority is hereby directed to pay the compensation, as per Section- 19 (8) of the RTI Act, 2005,to the aggrieved students, who are the ultimate sufferers due to nonavailability of information by erecting display board, at a sum of Rs.1000 to each student amounting to Rs.79,08,000 (Rs.1000 × 7908 no. of students), as explained in the earlier Order, within a period of one month from the date of receipt of this order and report compliance to this Commission.

 

It is to be noted that in today’s digital era, substantial number of transactions are made online, the fees for availing many Government services can be paid online and even the schools are collecting fees from the parents through online mode. Hence the Chief Accounts Officer of CMDA in consultation with the Chief Educational officer, Chennai may decide upon the mode of paying the compensation.

 

1. The Member Secretary of CMDA, during the course of hearing unconditionally accepts to disclose the information to the Authorities as directed by this Commission in Para 16 of the earlier Order. Hence, the Member Secretary is hereby directed to ensure the same and report the compliance to this Commission.

 

8. Moreover, this Commission was constituted by the Parliament under the Right to Information Act, 2005 for enhancing the principles enshrined under the Indian Constitution. Further, these legends have served in the Constituent Assembly, even though the CMDA has not complied with the Order, this Commission has accountability in flow of information. Thus, the information pertaining to the proposed construction of high rise building within the Chettinad House heritage site is hereby intimated to the Public Information Officer of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, Secretariat, Chennai-9for the grounds stated in Para- 16 of the earlier Order.

 

9. With the above directions, this case is further adjourned to

28.07.2022 @ 3.00 PM for reporting compliance.

 

      Sd/-(S. MUTHURAJ)            

      State Information Commissioner

                (By order of the Commission)

 

             

                                                                                                   Section Officer

 

Case             Numbers:          NC1314/D/2021                                 in          SA1043/D/2019,

SA1045/D/2019, SA1046/D/2019 &  SA 1054/D/2019)

 

Public Authority: – 1. The Vice Chairman,

Chennai Metropolitan Development Corporation,

Thalamuthu Natarajan House,

No.1, Gandhi Irwin Road, Egmore, Chennai-600 008.

 

2. The Member Secretary,

Chennai Metropolitan Development Corporation,

Thalamuthu Natarajan House,

No.1, Gandhi Irwin Road, Egmore, Chennai-600 008.

 

3. The Principal,

ChettinadVidhyashramam,

Chettinad House, Raja Annamalaipuram,  Chennai- 600 028.

 

4. Public Information Officer, O/o. Chief Educational officer,

 

 

Copy to:

Public Information Officer, Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, Secretariat, Chennai – 600 009.

 

 

 

Petitioners :

 

• V. Murugesh,

City Organizer, All India Students Welfare Association,

No.43/68, Second Cross Street,

South KesavaPerumalpuram, Greenways Road,  Chennai-600 028.

 

• R. Vishkia,

No.12, Shanmugapuram,

Raja Annamalaipuram, Chennai-600 028.

 

• S. Ganesh,

Old No.289, New No.330,  KVB Garden, R.A.Puram,  Chennai-600 028.

 

• B. Prasanth,

No.51/44, Ramasamy Garden,  Arunachalapuram, Adyar,  Chennai-600 020.

 

 

 

 

 

 

மனுதார கள் கவனத்திற்கு     RTI மனுக்கள்மூலம்                       மாவட்ட     அலுவலகங்களில்          ெபறப்படேவண்டிய                       தகவல்கைள                 ேநரடியாக                      ெசன்ைனதைலைம                     ச்ெசயலகம்                   மற்றும்        தைலைம                 அலுவலகங்களுக்கு      அனுப்பப்படுகிறது       . இதைனத்தவித்து                       ,                  RTI மனுக்கைளசம்மந்தப்பட்ட       அலுவலகத்திற்கு           அனுப்பவும்                    , பின்பு ேமல்முைறயடுகள்ீ                    ெசய்யவும்                     ேகட்டுக்ெகாள்ளப்படுகிறது.  இதனால்அரசு                   ெபாது      அதிகார        அைமப்புகளுக்குஏற்படும்                பணிச்சுைம                  மற்றும்        நிதிச்சுைம                      தவிக்கப்படும்.

 

ெபாது தகவல் அலுவல கள் கவனத்திற்கு:

 

 ெபாது அதிகார அைமப்புகள் தகவல் ெபறும் உைமச் சட்டத்தின் கீழ் வழங்கும் தகவல்களின் நகல்கைள (Copies) ஆைணயத்திற்கும், உயஅலுவலகங்களுக்கும்                    அனுப்புவைத                    தவிக்கவும் .  நகல்கள் (Copies) ேமல்முைறயட்டின்ீ                 மீதான                    விசாரைணயின்                    ேபாது                    சமப்பித்தால்                    ேபாதுமானது                    .

 இதனால்அரசு              ெபாது                                            அதிகார        அைமப்புகளுக்குஏற்படும்                                 பணிச்சுைம                                            மற்றும்                                   நிதிச்சுைம

தவிக்கப்படும்.