Petitioner withdraws plea to stop construction of memorials in Chennai's Marina

The petition sought the amendment of the Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1919, to specify the areas where memorials can be built.
Petitioner withdraws plea to stop construction of memorials in Chennai's Marina
Petitioner withdraws plea to stop construction of memorials in Chennai's Marina
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The Madras High Court has disposed off a petition seeking a ban on constructing memorials on Marina beach in Chennai.

The Public Interest Litigation (PIL), filed by a Chennai-based advocate S Gandhimadhi, stated that the Marina already has the memorials of three chief ministers who passed away while holding office. The tourists who come to visit the memorials and the noise and lights due to this can pose a threat to the marine organisms, the petition said.

It was also stated in the PIL that since it is impossible to do away with the structures already constructed, further permissions must not be granted to construct a memorial at the Marina.

The petitioner had requested the court to direct the government to bring changes to the Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act, 1919, and to order the officers concerned to specify the areas where the memorials can be constructed in Chennai.

The petition was filed last week and was taken up for hearing on Tuesday by the bench comprising Justices Huluvadi G Ramesh and M Sundar. After hearing the plea for withdrawing the petition at the admission stage, the bench disposed off the petition.

While the above petition requested the Corporation to not grant new permissions, a few other petitions are already pending with the court opposing the memorial for the former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu J Jayalalithaa.

In May, a PIL was filed in the Madras High Court by advocate Jayaseelan, who stated that a convict should not be given a state honour. He added that the proposed structure was in violation of the Coastal Regulatory Zone 2011 notification, which bans the construction of permanent structures on the beach.

Similarly, activist Traffic Ramaswamy too had filed a PIL, stating that the memorial should not be built since Jayalalithaa was convicted in the disproportionate assets case.  

The BJP youth wing had also voiced opposition to the planned memorial. In a petition addressed to Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit, they stated that it was unnecessary to construct a memorial for someone charged with corruption, adding that the state was already facing a cash crunch.

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