The Madras High Court has quashed the petition filed by residents of T Nagar seeking a stay on the construction of the new Nadigar Sangam building in Chennai.
A division bench headed by Justices N Kirubakaran and V Parthiban said at the hearing yesterday that the petitioners, KM Srirangan, R Annamalai and other residents of Vidhyodaya Colony in T Nagar, have failed to prove that the construction is taking place on a 33-foot encroached public land, and also ruled that there was no proof of a road existing in the premises.
சாலையை ஆக்கிரமித்து #நடிகர்சங்ககட்டிடம் கட்டுவதை எதிர்த்து தொடரப்பட்ட மனுவை தள்ளுபடி செய்து சென்னை உயர்நீதிமன்றம் உத்தரவு. Wpfiled by Srirangan & other residents was heard by a division bench of d Madras high court & final orders were passed tday the wp has been dismissed. #siaa pic.twitter.com/94DdART4JQ
— NadigarSangam PrNews (@NadigarsangamP) August 28, 2019
The case, which has been pending in court since 2017, was one of main roadblocks in the completion of the Nadigar Sangam building. As reported earlier, the petitioners obtained a stay order on the building citing encroachment of public land, and this was lifted by the Madras High Court when no evidence against the Sangam was found. The final hearing, after the submission of the findings by the court-appointed surveyor, was held yesterday.
The inauguration date for the building is yet to be officially announced.
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The construction began in April 2017 with Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan laying the foundation stone. It was scheduled to complete by the end of the three year term of office-bearers Nasser, Vishal and Karthi in October 2018, but in August last year they announced that the building was still under construction and elections to the Sangam will be held only after its inauguration.
The building was later slated for a grand launch in March 2019, but further delayed. In June, Nasser announced elections, and Vishal also announced his wedding at the Nadigar Sangam building in October.
As in 2015, the main election promise made by Nasser’s Pandavar Ani is the completion of the building. Bhagyaraj’s Swami Shankardas Ani has criticised them for the delay, and a legal case against the Sangam for extending its term is also pending in the Madras High Court.
The building is reportedly costing the Sangam Rs 35 crores, and proposes a purview theatre and a multi-purpose hall among other facilities.