Deccan Chronicle: Chennai:
Wednesday, June 19, 2013.
Sometimes it
probably requires an RTI activist to clear the dust on pending files. And in
this case, the officials started working on a proposal that they ought to have
done 30 years ago.
RTI activist
V. Gopalakrishnan from M.G.R. Nagar in the city, who has been trying to trace
vanished parks, playground and a community hall at Jafferkhanpet in south
Chennai, had initially filed an RTI before the city corporation seeking to know
about the status of the OSR (open space reservation) land at Sathyamurthy
block in west Jafferkhanpet.
Annoyed by
the response that the land was not yet handed over to the corporation by the
Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB), he filed another RTI with the housing board.
To his shock, he found that the land ought to have been given to the corporation
about 30 years back. But only now TNHB had submitted the proposal to hand over
the land to the board for approval.
“Only after
receiving the complaint from me, TNHB realised its duty that it had not done
for 30 years,” Gopalakrishnan said. The OSR land must be provided to the
corporation to build playgrounds. “Our area lacks playground and, hence, we can
find people from various areas thronging the Sivan park at K.K. Nagar, which
has been providing relief,” he said.
Similarly,
the Sathyamurthy block also remains devoid of religious centres and community
halls, which are specified in the plan layout of the block, he added. Nowadays,
residential buildings occupy places meant for community halls and other
centres, Gopalakrishnan pointed out.
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