Corpn reclaims OSR land worth Rs22 crore at Coimbatore's Vadavalli

Coimbatore: The city corporation retrieved 1.13 acres of open space reservation (OSR) land parcels worth approximately 22 crore in wards 36 and 40 near Vadavalli here on Friday.

According to an official source, the Directorate of Town and Country Planning had given plan approval to form three layouts on 17 acres at Vadavalli in 1981 with a direction to the land promotor to hand over 1.69 acres of OSR sites to the local body (Vadavalli town panchayat). The land promotor, however, sold the parcels of OSR land to various people, who eventually constructed houses there.

When the state govt expanded the city corporation 2011, the source said, Vadavalli became part of the city area. "In 2017, VNR residents' welfare association president Joseph moved the Madras high court, seeking a direction to the city corporation to reclaim the parcels of OSR land by removing encroachments. The high court ordered the city corporation to remove the encroachments in February 2024. Town planning officials from the west zone subsequently served notices on the encroachers to vacate the land, but in vain."

Meanwhile, the welfare association filed a contempt petition against the city corporation commissioner and the district collector in October 2024 for their failure to retrieve the OSR land parcels.

On Friday, west zone assistant town planning officer Mahendran and team reclaimed 1.13 acres of OSR land parcels by demolishing the buildings on the same. "We are planning to install a fence around the reclaimed parcels of land. The remaining 56 cents will be reclaimed at the earliest," a corporation official said.

Pointing out that encroachers have constructed houses on the illegally occupied OSR land parcels, he said the civic body had issued notices to them to vacate the land in 15 days. "If they fail to do so, we will demolish the houses and reclaim the land."