Madras High Court revives hearing of cases against ECR bungalows of Vijay, Kamal Haasan, Udhayanidhi Stalin

After a gap of six years, the Madras High Court has now revived the hearing of a huge batch of cases related to alleged unauthorised construction of bungalows, resorts, guest houses and farm houses along the high tide line on the East Coast Road (ECR) in Chennai.

A Division Bench of Justices Anita Sumanth and Mummineni Sudheer Kumar took note that the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) had issued notices in 2018 to 798 properties that had been reportedly constructed in violation of the rules between Neelangarai and Uthandi.

The notices were issued after the High Court had pulled up the enforcement authorities for turning a blind eye to the constructions put up within 200 metres and between 200-500 metres from the high tide line in violation of the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ) notifications.

Among the noticees were industrialists, educationists, doctors, businessmen, film actors and politicians including Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, Rajya Sabha member Kamal Haasan and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president C. Joseph Vijay.

The judges also found that 440 out of the 798 property owners had filed either statutory appeals or revisions as provided under the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act of 1971 but only 84 of those appeals had been disposed as on date and the rest were still pending.

The Bench was further told that an officer who was holding the post of Additional Secretary (Technical) in the Housing and Urban Development department had heard all those appeals/revisions in 2024 but he retired from service in 2025 without passing any orders.

It was also brought to the notice of the court that, at present, Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority Chief Planner (Road Transport) S. Kanchanamala was serving as Additional Secretary (Technical) in the Housing and Urband Development department on deputation.

Hence, the Bench led by Justice Sumanth directed the incumbent officer to hear all the pending statutory appeals as well as revisions between February 23 and March 30, 2026 by allowing either the property owners or their representatives to make submissions in their defence.

Making it clear that the present court order itself should be considered as a notice of hearing and the property owners should not expect any new notice of hearing from the officer concerned, the judges said, all the appeals/revisions must be disposed of before May 31, 2026.

The Bench stated that the revisions and appeals must be disposed of by passing speaking/reasoned orders. It directed the State government to retain Ms. Kanchanamala in the post of Additional Secretary (Technical) in the Housing and urban development department until she completes the exercise.

“We are constrained to state this, as the petitioners are aggrieved by the fact that the erstwhile appellate/revisional authority C.S. Murugan, who heard 440 appeals from October to December 2024 had demitted office in January 2025 without having disposed the same,” the judges added.

They also stated that the GCC as well as CMDA officials concerned would be at liberty to proceed in accordance with law against the property owners who had neither filed a statutory appeal nor a revision against the lock and seal or demolition notices issued to them.

A senior counsel appointed as amicus curiae in the case told the Division Bench that it was very important to protect the long coastline in Chennai not only because it was aesthetically pleasing but also because it has to be preserved from the environmental point of view.

He said, the coastal stretch serves as nesting grounds for Olive Ridley turtles and was the last remaining source of fresh water in a water stressed economy. Therefore, he urged the court to order enumeration of unauthorised constructions even beyond Uthandi so that action could be initiated against those buildings too.

After hearing him, the judges directed the High Court Registry to list the batch of cases on February 27, 2026 for passing further orders.