Jeeva Nagar, Kattupakkam-Mangadu: Forum of Property Owners and Residents

Big housing project makes Kattupakkam more attractive destination

2012-01-28T02:19:00.000-08:00

Kattupakkam, located midway between Porur and Poonamallee is again the focus of residential housing development. One more company has advertised in The Hindu Property Plus today, a 130 unit apartment project called Jamals Luxor Kattupakkam, at a square foot price of Rs..4,300. This is advertised as being close to both Saveetha Dental College and Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Hospital. (Disclaimer - this is for information purposes only, and we have no links with the promoters, and we do not endorse their offer).

The fact that the new project is proposed close to Kumananchavadi junction shows, again, the growing importance of Kattupakkam. An earlier project is scheduled to be built by Prestige-Ratthas group. It must be noted that the Poonamalee is proposed to connected by the AIADMK government by Mono Rail, while it is also listed as one of the intended destinations for future alignment of the Metro Rail.

The residential developments that are growing in the Kattupakkam area are bound to raise the demand for mass transit connectivity towards both Maduravoyal and St. Thomas Mount.

Porur-Kattupakkam becomes Chennai housing hub

2012-01-21T02:12:00.000-08:00

A spate of project announcements in the Porur - Kattupakkam region indicates that this area is fast becoming a housing hub. The completion of ETA STAR's Jasmine Court (see video) in Kattupakkam and occupation of apartments by the residents has spurred greater interest in house-building in this area. It has also kicked-off many services. Now, 280 apartments have been announced at Kattupakkam by the Baashyaam group, over an extent of 3.51 acres, with apartments sizes between 551 sq.ft., to 1676 sq.ft. This project, christened Happy Windows, is on the South Western end of Kumananchavadi, the junction on the Mount Poonamallee Road that leads to Kunrathur on one side, Poonamallee on the other, and to Velappanchavadi to the East. The project has been advertised as a front page jacket ad in The Hindu of today (January 21, 2012)

The elevation view of the Baashyaam group's
project advertised in the Hindu

It would surprise many to know that this area now has major branded retail outlets, banks, telecom services, and, very importantly, the Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Hospital at a distance of about 3 to 5 km, depending on which side of Mount-Poonamallee road you are.All this points to the high value of land and property in Jeeva Nagar, the CMDA-approved layout that was a seed of an idea in 2004, and now hosts over 15 bungalow-type houses and several apartments. The residents are taking up one major issue that affects their quality of life in the layout for some months of year, which is seasonal flooding during the monsoon. If you have a plot in Jeeva Nagar, drop us a line at jeevanagar@gmail.com

First private step towards road laying in Jeeva Nagar

2010-04-11T02:15:00.000-07:00

We have been let down by BLB Estates and we are pursuing all channels of engagement with the Mangadu Town Panchayat regarding the poor state of infrastructure in Jeeva Nagar, a CMDA approved layout.

Now, this upcoming locality in Kattupakkam has received a shot in the arm with a private promoter laying debris, to elevate the level of one of the interior roads in the layout. This is the first such private attempt at improving the liveability in this beautiful layout.

Here is picture taken today, of the new debris-filled road.

If you own a plot in Jeeva Nagar, or plan to buy one here, you will be happy to note that more housing activity is taking place. Two plots have been demarcated with compound walls, and a twin-room structure has been built in the South side.

Another plot on the Eastern half of the layout has also been demarcated, with indications of upcoming housing.

Other neighbourhood news is that the ETA STAR construction is complete, and some families now live there. Another apartment block is coming up on the Mount-Poonamalee road, opposite the Maruti showroom in Kattupakkam.

A Hyundai dealership anbd service agency has opened, in addition to the Tata and Maruti that are already in the area. Two furniture shops have opened on the Mount - Poonamallee Road at the entrance to Audco-Nagar/Jeeva Nagar.

All this indicates the excellent value that this area now offers in terms of residential spaces. What is more, this is ony the beginning.

ETA Star Jasmine Court residents start moving in - neighbourhood development is on

2010-02-08T02:12:00.000-08:00

It is welcome that the first residents of Jasmine Court, the neighbouring locality about 300 metres from Jeeva Nagar, have started moving into their new homes.

The residents of this gated community join the several residential localities that have come up in the Kattupakkam - Kumananchavadi area. The others are Southern Shelters, Sterling Ganges, AUDCO Nagar and Jeeva Nagar.

We wish the new neighbours all the best and hope to have active collaboration with them in community matters.

BLB Estates Jeeva Nagar Approved Layout Now on CMDA website

2009-11-14T05:27:00.000-08:00

The approved layout of Jeeva Nagar, bearing number PPD LO 134/2003 is now available officially on the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority website. It can be downloaded as a PDF here.

The approved layout clearly displays two roads connecting the layout - A 12.0 metre road connecting Kattupakkam and a 9 metre road connecting Badrimedu, where there is an existing 7.2 metre road as per the plan.

A quick study of the approved plan (download it here) shows that BLB Estates, the developer of the layout is required to remove two sections of the compound wall in the Southern side. This was not done during the entire period of five years that BLB Estates said it would maintain the layout. It has thus flouted the approved plan condition.

As we have pointed out earlier, BLB Estates has also concealed the material fact that a lot of the top-soil was removed in the layout by commercial interests, and it was sold without any remediation by the developer. The CMDA has also ignored this condition.

This is to caution all those transacting in property developed by BLB Estates, that they do so at their own risk. They may have to invest extra funds to remedy environmental damage caused to layouts promoted by this company.

If BLB Estates wants to salvage its reputation, it should come forward to repair all roads to a height of 5 feet from the existing level. This will stop the recurrent flooding in the approved layout.

The Mangadu Town Panchayat under Kancheepuram District has also acted with extreme irresponsibility by not insisting on fulfilment of the approval conditions of the CMDA.

It was even more negligent in wasting Rs. five lakhs of the Government of Tamil Nadu funds under the Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi Thittam (AGAMT) supervised by an officer of high integrity, the Rural Development Secretary, Mr K Ashok Vardhan Shetty, IAS.

We urge Mr. Shetty to order an inspection of the layout to see whether the Panchayat has frittered away precious funds by building a partial black-topped road that goes underwater every time it rains, by ignoring the fact that this layout has been stripped of several feet of topsoil. Did the taxpayer have to spend Rs. five lakhs for this?

No action yet from Mangadu Panchayat on flooding

2009-10-24T03:35:00.000-07:00

Although a full year has passed, no action has been taken by the Mangadu Town Panchayat to prevent flooding of Jeeva Nagar during the monsoon.

On behalf of the residents, a petition was sent to the Secretary, Municipal Administration and Water Supply, Government of Tamil Nadu, Dr. Niranjan Mardi last year. The Kancheepuram District Collector and the Director of Town Panchayats were also contacted with similar appeals.

It is learnt that the Mangadu Panchayat has responded to the active measures by residents, by issuing notices to some of them on alleged building plan violations.

The residents have been demanding that at least 'kutcha' roads be laid, using building debris available from demolitions. This plea has not been heeded by the Panchayat or by the other which of the DMK Government which are responsible for rural development, health and welfare.

It is shocking that the Government has not audited the single road built in Jeeva Nagar, Kattupakkam, under the Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi Thittam, a flagship scheme, purportedly at a cost of Rs. 5 lakhs for a stretch of about 250 metres. This is a serious fraud on the public exchequer and the Secretary, Rural Development, Government of Tamil Nadu, Mr. K. Ashok Vardhan Shetty should conduct a spot check. It will reveal that the Panchayat deliberately created a road at a level far below the known water-level mark for this area (where the Panchayat has allowed top soil to be excavated for years before also allowing it to be approved by CMDA and sold by BLB Estates of T. Nagar Chennai, as a residential layout.

Will the DMK Government's chief officers in the two respective departments, Dr. Mardi and Mr. Shetty act to create the necessary infrastructure?

Why BLB Estates, Chennai, should act quickly

2009-01-26T03:31:00.000-08:00

Why BLB Estates, Chennai, should act quickly to save its reputation

Jeeva Nagar is a CMDA-approved residential layout vide PPD LO No. 134/2003, Survey Nos. 558/2B2, 559/2, 561/2 and 562 of Mangadu Village, coming under Mangadu Town Panchayat, Kancheepuram District. It has been promoted by a company called BLB Estates, T.Nagar.

This layout of over 100 residential plots has been in existence for the last five years, during which period about ten houses have been constructed and occupied. More people are keen to construct houses, but it is not feasible at present for reasons stated below.

During the five-year period since approval, the Mangadu Town Panchayat has not acted to provide basic amenities such as usable roads, street lighting, and drainage facility. On the contrary, the Panchayat has been claiming that since few houses have been built, it is not feasible to provide even basic infrastructure in Jeeva Nagar. In a reply to an RTI petition, the Panchayat has stated adamantly that it is not feasible to elevate the interior roads of the layout (Panchayat reference RC No. 468/2007/Dt 19.09.2007) although it was aware of the problem and confirmed receipt of complaints.

During each Northeast Monsoon period since 2003, and sometimes during the Southwest Monsoon, the residents have experienced terrible flooding, so much so that they are unable to move out of their houses without risking injury or worse, for three to four months. The images of 2008 are sufficient testimony to the gravity of the problem. During the monsoon, the residents had to keep company with snakes.

The reason for the extraordinary problem in Jeeva Nagar, which is just 200 metres from the Mount-Poonamallee Road close to the upcoming ETA Star gated community would seem to be somewhat unusual. The area has been excavated by those who had access to it earlier, to apparently feed a brick kiln industry with top soil. As a result, the layout has become a trough, holding a great deal of water each time it rains, and with no drainage possibility. The natural eastward drainage course of the area serving Survey Nos. 558/2B2, 559/2, 561/2 and 562 of Mangadu Village has already been encroached upon in the nearby porombokes, further preventing the drainage of water.

This situation is aggravated by the discharge of water from adjacent localities to the West and North of the approved layout into Jeeva Nagar during the monsoon. During 2008, this problem was at its worst, and the entire layout was turned into a lake.

The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority has acted with little sense of responsibility, and with complete non-application of mind, in approving a residential layout in a site that has been excavated and rendered a trough. Any professional city development agency would have inspected the site, and assessed it for its ground level vis-a-vis the surroundings, drainage and so on. That however, if a fait accompli today and having approved the layout, it is incumbent on the CMDA, the Mangadu Town Panchayat and the Government of Tamil Nadu to take remedial measures.

The residents and property owners do appreciate the help offered by the District Collector, Kancheepuram, Mr Santosh Misra, IAS, during the NE Monsoon 2008 which persuaded the Mangadu Town Panchayat to try pumping out the water from the layout in a limited way. But the Panchayat acted too late, having failed to do what it should have done earlier, and could not stop fresh ingress of water pumped in from other areas.

Most surprisingly, the Panchayat now refuses to move forward to solve the problem, citing proposed work by Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board on construction of a master drainage scheme.

As a result of inaction on the part of the CMDA, the Mangadu Town Panchayat (which collected Rs. 2.45 lakhs and Rs. 90,000 from the promoter and the CMDA respectively towards layout fees; Rs. 20,560 from CMDA towards development charges; Rs. 84,455 from building license applicants as of 2007) Jeeva Nagar has become unfit for habitation.

To set right this derelict state of affairs, the Municipal Administration and Water Supply department of the Tamil Nadu Government must implement the following set of actions that will do justice and secure the rights of those who have the very legitimate and rightful aspiration of building a dwelling and residing in the layout.

1. The Mangadu Town Panchayat should forthwith arrange to raise the level of all approved roads within the layout above the last known high-water mark, which would be safely assumed at six feet. This alone will make the layout livable and enable more people to construct houses and thereby improve the tax-base of the local body.

2. A drainage channel from this area towards the Porur lake or other suitable water-body should be created, either with an open channel or a pipeline.

3. Street lighting, promised by the Panchayat in writing since 2007, to meet the needs of the residents should be provided.

4. The interconnecting road between the approved layout and the Mount-Poonamallee Road, passing through AUDCO Nagar should be laid, jointly by the Mangadu Town Panchayat and the Kattupakkam Panchayat (which has part jurisdiction on the Northern side).

5. Attempts by some private parties to cut-off access to the approved layout on the Northern side by erecting a gate unlawfully should be curbed and the rule of law established. The road is not private property, as indicated by the CMDA in its reply to me in response to RTI petition and by the Mangadu Panchayat to another petition. The illegal structures should therefore be removed forthwith by the jurisdictional Kattupakkam Panchayat.

6. Open Space Reservation land handed over to the Mangadu Town Panchayat as required under CMDA norms are secured, fenced and preserved for their intended purpose, which is to serve as an open circulating space for the community.

7. Government can investigate whether the property developer, BLB Estates, T.Nagar had not provided the real facts to the CMDA to get approval and proceed against them, as well as against the CMDA officials responsible for such a defective layout being approved. Such a step would improve the approvals process and tighten the procedures at CMDA.

8. An enquiry needs to be conducted to determine why the Mangadu Town Panchayat and its Executive Officer did not act, despite repeated appeals made to it individually and complaints appearing in The Hindu on January 29, 2007 and earlier on September 26, 2005 in the "Readers' Mail" column.

It is untenable for the Executive Officer, Mangadu Town Panchayat to claim, as it has done to the residents in January 2009, that the layout is a new one (that is false, because it exists since 2003), and that there are too few houses for any facilities to be provided (without access to the layout, no new houses can be built. How can houses be built inside water?).

Finally, the works requested above do not involve major expenditures and are in fact essential if the objective of the residential layout is to be fulfilled, and the rights of the property owners protected. Rather than build a single road under the All Town Panchayat Anna Marulamarchi Thittam, as the Mangadu panchayat has done, the first step should have been to raise the level of all interior roads above known flood level.

The Government of Tamil Nadu should take necessary steps to enable property owners to build a house and reside in the approved layout, which is a legitimate aspiration and even more important, a legal right under the Constitution of India. It is also necessary for Government to act quickly to convince the community that there is some sanctity to a CMDA-approval.

Mangadu Town Panchayat responds to RTI petition

2009-01-03T23:12:00.001-08:00

Panchayat EO says drainage scheme under Water and Drainage Board is proposed for Jeeva Nagar.

In response to a petition filed by a property owner of Jeeva Nagar, the Mangadu Town Panchayat has said it could take up road laying works in the layout only after a proposed drainage scheme of the Tamil Nadu Water and Drainage Board is implemented.

We consider this an obfuscation, because we are only seeking 'kutcha' roads made up of debris at a height appropriate to the known flood level. This does not require major funding. We intend to pursue this demand, and have already written to the District Collector, Kancheepuram, Mr. Santhosh K. Misra , IAS, and the Commissioner of Town Panchayats, Mr. Gopal, IAS.

We will post the full reply of the Executive Officer, Mangadu Town Panchayat, here shortly. Clearly, the Panchayat has ignored the appeals made in 2007 and earlier by the residents about the recurrent flooding. The appeals were printed in The Hindu, see here. A recent video of the flooding of 2008 is here.

At this point, we wish to express our shock and surprise that the EO has been harassing some residents of Jeeva Nagar on the ground that they had violated their building permission. This is ridiculous because the Mangadu Town Panchayat is yet to remove the stagnating rain-water, and compensate the ten house owners in the approved layout, who were surrounded by a sheet of water for over two months.

The devious and mala fide actions of the Executive Officer have been communicated to the Kancheepuram District Collector and the Commissioner of Town Panchayats.

The families of the residents who have endured the havoc of rain and flooding should be provided the relief amount of Rs.2,000 promised by the DMK Government immediately. The residents could file Right to Information Act applications, if they want to know more about the relief scheme; they should file individual claims for the amount, and if the Panchayat does not provide the money, should file RTI applications seeking to know why they were denied the claim. (Details of an earlier RTI application are available here.)

Kancheepuram collector briefed on flooding

2008-12-12T01:42:00.000-08:00

Jeeva Nagar, the CMDA approved layout promoted by BLB Estates, T.Nagar, has witnessed unprecedented flooding during 2008 November-December.

We have taken up the neglect of the layout by the Mangadu Town Panchayat with the District Collector, Kancheepuram, Mr. Santosh Misra, IAS. He has initiated some steps to persuade the local body to act.

The scene of the flooding can be seen in this video by a resident, hosted on Youtube.

Another movie/slide presentation on the cause of the flooding can be seen here.

The residents have resolved that this is the last year when they will put up with such flooding, and a set of measures to be decided by consultation will be initiated early in 2009.

Unprecedented flooding in 2008

2008-11-29T23:16:00.000-08:00

The unprecedented flooding in Jeeva Nagar, Kattupakkam, coming under Mangadu panchayat originally promoted by BLB Estates, has thrown life completely out of gear for the residents.

Appeals were made by the dozen families, including four literally at the centre of a lake, to the Kancheepuram District Collector, the Mangadu panchayat chairman mr srinivasan, the Commissioner of Town Panchayats Dr. Gopal and the Chief Secretary, Government of Tamil Nadu.

The pictures as of November 30 can be seen in this slideshow.

Apartment Block to come up at Jeeva Nagar

2008-08-13T01:48:00.000-07:00

A proposal to put up an apartment block in Jeeva Nagar has been announced by the Himalaya Foundations Pvt Ltd, Chennai. If the preliminary information is correct, this block will be the largest in the layout. It is centrally located and has an individual house on one side which is already occupied.

A smaller block of four apartments is ready for occupation in the layout. The residents are now demanding that the Mangadu Town Panchayat complete its development works in the layout. These pending works include:

Completion of road laying work in the entire layout.

Putting up street lights

Steps to fence off and develop the open space reservation land for community purposes such as park.

Provision of drains.

Steps to prevent the misuse of the layout for open consumption of alcohol.

If you are planning to buy into the apartments advertised by the Himalaya Foundations, please send us an email at jeevanagar@gmail.com with your contact information. We would like to get in touch with you and enlist your support for these common activities.

The details of Himalaya Foundations advertised at the project site are as follows:

Himalaya Foundations Pvt Ltd
Engineers and Flat Promoters
Contact: # 138/33 Alagiri Nagar 2nd street, Vadapalani, Chennai 26
Tel: 044 24727887, Cell: 94444 53845 ; 94440 82054
email: himalaya_foundation@yahoo.co.in

Latest Photos of Jeeva Nagar, Chennai

2008-07-28T02:49:00.000-07:00

Here are the latest photos from in and around Jeeva Nagar, the residential layout in Chennai neighbouring AUDCO Nagar, Kattupakkam and coming under Mangadu Panchayat.

You can view the pictures in bigger size by clicking on the link opening from the yellow person icon to the left bottom of the slideshow viewer.

Another housewarming in Jeeva Nagar

2008-07-20T03:14:00.000-07:00

Another building is complete in Jeeva Nagar, for which the house warming was performed on Sunday. This building is closer to the Mangadu gate, and has a sizeable built-up area of about 2,300 sq feet.

The view of the layout as it appears on the day of this event should convince anyone that this residential complex is among the best shaping up in this part of the city, in spite of the neglect by the layout promoter, and the Mangadu Town Panchayat. The credit for all the development so far goes to the residents. The road in the photo was possible because the residents used the Right to Information Act, 2005, to compel the Mangadu Town Panchayat to act. The funds for the road were made available under the Anaithu Grama Anna Marumalarchi Thittam (Anna village renovation scheme).

Meanwhile active tree planting is going on in the area, with residents bringing Pongamia (Pungan) and Neem saplings for planting. Some of the labour in the construction sites are helping with the planting and watering. If you have a plot in Jeeva Nagar, please send us an email to advance the efforts for better civic development.

CMDA reply shows that Jeeva Nagar has access from Mt Poonamallee Road

2008-07-15T03:19:00.001-07:00

The Chennai Metropolitan Develepment Authority has responded to the Right to Information Act application filed by the residents of Jeeva Nagar.
The reply makes it clear that there are two public roads leading to the layout, one in the Northeast and another on the Southwest.
The details of the roads are as follows:
Northeast public road -- 7.2 metres wide
Southwest Public Road -- 12.0 metres wide
Any obstruction of access from the Southwest Road, on the Mount - Poonamallee Road side is, therefore, not valid under the CMDA approved Plan.

Right to Information (RTI) application filed with CMDA

2008-06-25T00:49:00.000-07:00

The residents of Jeeva Nagar have filed last week, an application under the Right to Information Act, 2005, with the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) seeking to know the status of approach roads to the approved layout.

This has become necessary, as the approach to the Nagar, shown in the registration documents and layout map of the promoter, BLB Estates, is now sought to be made a limited access way by some other property owners.

The information furnished by CMDA will be reported here in full and also reproduced in the original.

Jeeva Nagar now on Youtube

2007-12-24T00:47:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the slow progress on civic matters, Jeeva Nagar has now perhaps become one of the first town panchayat layouts to have a short movie on Youtube, titles, credits and all. Ironically, the property value is rising all the time. A major transaction has taken place in the layout which indicates that it may witness another apartment block coming up.

Four apartments on the Eastern side are already at an advanced stage of completion. Catch a glimpse of this in the video below, in the first half (the first floor structure with brickwork). Also notice the few houses that are already there.

The Mangadu Town Panchayat has not provided the necessary road infrastructure. The Kattupakkam Panchayat has also not completed its road laying work, leaving costly granite jelly stones exposed to the elements.

See the video here:

As the Mangadu Town Panchayat and the CMDA continue to drag their feet, they will find themselves having a more and more visible -- and unflattering -- presence on the Internet.

Jeeva Nagar in The Hindu's Property Plus supplement

2007-12-22T00:37:00.000-08:00

The Hindu's Property Plus supplement carries a write-up today on the use of the Right to Information Act to get information about Jeeva Nagar.

Read it here.

We will soon be featuring videos of the layout, to give the outside world a sense of what is happening there.

Updates for the last several weeks

2007-12-21T01:40:00.000-08:00

It has been a while since we updated the blog. In the last few months, work on the single road that the Mangadu Town Panchayat has agreed to lay has begun. Two more houses have been completed and one family has moved in.

The most recent concerns surround the rainwater stagnation that has resulted from the rains. Many plots apparently remain cut-off now, but we believe that this situation will soon change.

One of the big agglomerations of plots is said to have changed hands and we may expect an apartment complex coming up at the site. This is good news, as it will bring more people to the locality and add to social cohesion and safety, besides giving a demand push for services. Already, a small apartment complex is under construction in the layout.

The kutcha road leading to the Poonamallee - Mount road remains a sticking point, as its status is not known. The Mangadu panchayat had conveyed in reply to an RTI petition that it comes under the Kattupakkam panchayat.

Keep writing letters to the editor in major newspapers and demand more civic services.

Second Right to Information Act application filed

2007-08-28T00:20:00.000-07:00

This blog is happy to report that a second Right to Information Act application has been filed with the Mangadu Town Panchayat, seeking to know what steps have been taken to make the roads in Jeeva Nagar, Mangadu, fit for use year round.

As the residents and property owners of the CMDA-approved layout know, Jeeva Nagar gets cut off during the monsoon and other rainy periods, due to flooding.

This is because the promoter BLB Estates of T.Nagar and the Mangadu Town Panchayat have not done anything to raise the road level to a suitable height. Actually, the layout roads are not level with those in the Badrimedu area adjacent to it.

Read the earlier post to see what the Mangadu Town Panchayat has promised to do, in response to our first application under the RTI Act, 2005.

Despite the issue of nine building licences, including one for an apartment complex, no action has been taken by the Panchayat. It could very well have dumped the debris generated by demolition of encroachments on Kunrathur Main Road to raise the level of roads in Jeeva Nagar. But it failed miserably.

Jeeva Nagar experience with Right to Information (RTI) Act now on Exnora-5th Pillar portal

2007-08-11T23:32:00.001-07:00

The experience of using the Right to Information Act, 2005 by Jeeva Nagar is now featured on the website of 5th Pillar, the activist portal of Exnora International.

The link is: Success Stories

Jeeva Nagar successful with RTI in getting reply from Mangadu Town Panchayat

2007-08-08T03:26:00.000-07:00

The Right to Information Act 2005 is seen as a powerful citizen-empowering tool, to bring about positive action by Government at all levels.

On behalf of the Jeeva Nagar residents, a media person from Central Chennai used the Act and filed a petition to the Executive Officer, Mangadu Town Panchayat seeking information on the road works, open space reservation and street lighting, among other aspects, in the Nagar.

After one full month, the Panchayat has responded with a reply. You can read it here

Also see latest pictures from the layout here.

If you know someone who owns property in Jeeva Nagar, please pass on this information and ask him to mail the association at jeevanagar@gmail.com

Mangadu Town Panchayat asked to explain under RTI

2007-07-08T03:09:00.001-07:00

This blog is happy to report that the Mangadu Town Panchayat has been asked under the Right to Information Act, 2005, to explain the steps taken to provide roads and civic amenities in Jeeva Nagar.

The RTI application was sent on July 3, 2007. This means the Executive Officer of the Panchayat, who is the Public Information Officer under the Act, has one month to explain the situation.

We will update the blog with the progress in the matter.

An unusual occurrence

2007-07-08T03:01:00.000-07:00

This blog has heard that three vehicles appearing to be from the Police came to Jeeva Nagar on the night of July 6, 2007 and the personnel entered the houses of some residents claiming to be conducting a search.

It is reported that some of them were in possession of metal detectors and so on.

They got a call while they were in the layout and suddenly left, apologising to the residents.

Both Poonamallee Police Station and Mangadu Police Station had no idea about any search operation in the area. The personnel at the Poonamallee PS were needlessly rude to the residents of Jeeva Nagar when they went to enquire about the incident. That is not surprising, given that the general demeanour of most Indian police personnel is less then civilised and they consider the taxpaying public to be helpless.

After ETA Star, a proposal for flats in Jeeva Nagar

2007-04-30T07:50:00.000-07:00

It is now clear that the value of Jeeva Nagar is established as one of the most attractive destinations in an expanding metropolis: a middle class builder has announced the construction of single and double-bed room flats in a plot in Jeeva Nagar.

The owners of property here feel glad that this locality appeals to the sensibilities of the middle class, which is a solid endorsement of its long-term viability.

It is difficult to find today anywhere in Chennai, flats of the size now planned, affordable to the salaried middle class that is not plugged into the new economy in the upper stacks.

However, we take this opportunity once again to express our deep disappointment with BLB Estates the original promoter of the plots and the Mangadu Panchayat, led by its Chairman and the Councillor of Badrimedu, who have not provided proper roads, street lighting and have failed to develop the common areas, leaving them open to encroachment.

An appeal is also pending with the Kancheepuram District Collector, (Mr. Pradeep Yadav, IAS when it was filed), with no sign of action. The Mangadu Panchayat should realise that with the occupation of Jeeva Nagar in coming years, the complexion of the Badrimedu ward is bound to change, and residents will remember the inaction of the present party in power, the DMK. It should act to remedy the situation today.

Property Values in Chennai

2007-02-08T01:20:00.000-08:00

The news item in The Hindu today that IDBI has sold a piece of property on Boat Club Road through e-auction for the staggering amount of Rs.175 crore highlights the levels which property prices in Chennai are touching.

This price works out to a rate of Rs. 4.02 crores per ground of 2,400 sq. ft. In many other places, the price touches about Rs. 3.5 crores a ground.

As a prime piece of real estate on the high value Mount - Poonamallee Road and the upcoming widenened Poonamallee - Kunrathur road via Mangadu, Jeeva Nagar is truly a gem of a place to have.

Already, all the signs of development around it are evident. In fact, by the time most of us move in there, it may acquire the contemporary "metro" look, without the benefit of solitude and quiet!

Let us do our best to improve its environs.

Jeeva Nagar problems in The Hindu

2007-01-29T04:00:00.000-08:00

The Hindu has today (Jan 29, 2007) carried a lengthy appeal from Mr. Ramkumar in the Readers' Mail column on behalf of all owners and residents, on the civic problems affecting the layout.

The text of the letter is as follows:

Civic works in Jeeva Nagar

The residents of Jeeva Nagar, a CMDA-approved layout in Kattupakkam just off the fast developing Mount-Poonamallee Road (PPD LO No. 134/2003 and Survey Nos. 558/2B2, 559/2, 561/2 and 562 of Mangadu Village) are awaiting civic works to be undertaken, to overcome problems of severe monsoon flooding, lack of basic roads and street lighting.

The Mangadu Panchayat, which has jurisdiction over the layout, has said that it is considering these development works, and tenders are being processed, which is a commendable step.

We would like to point out that optimal utilisation of the allocation can take place only if the road level in the layout is raised through addition of debris (which is readily available from nearby encroachment demolition work carried out by official agencies in December 2006). This would bring the Jeeva Nagar ground level on par with adjoining Badrimedu ward and AUDCO Nagar.

During 2005 and 2006, Jeeva Nagar remained inaccessible for nearly four months because of flooding, release of sewage from adjacent wards, lack of roads and total darkness at dusk. As a result, house-building activity came to a halt and the panchayat suffered revenue loss.

While thanking the Kancheepuram District Collector and the Mangadu Panchayat for their initiative, we appeal that they make the best use of funds by ensuring at least four feet road height, and provision for laying of drinking water pipelines along all interior streets.

S. Ramkumar,

President

Jeeva Nagar Owner's And Residents Welfare Association

Kattupakkam.

It would be good if we could follow it up by calling up the Panchayat and urging them to devote the required attention to the problems immediately.

Tender works 'on anvil'

2007-01-24T00:34:00.000-08:00

We have heard from Mr.Ramkumar today that the Mangadu Panchayat is about to call for tenders for road, streetlighting and drinking water works for Jeeva Nagar.

This is a very promising piece of information, but we are not sure if the panchayat will take into account the low road level in the layout, when compared with AUDCO Nagar on one side and Badrimedu on the other.

One of our neighbours with good contacts in the panchayat was requested to pursue the matter with the panchayat EO and he has expressed his readiness.

Unless the road level is raised and repairs carried out, any investment on Jeeva Nagar will be a waste of public funds.

Neighbouring Bougainvillea site of Alliance

2007-01-11T03:12:00.000-08:00

Some of us have seen the nearby site of Alliance, the real estate company where it is putting up a gated community called Bougainvillea.

The advertisements of the property fashion it as a Spanish villa complex with English gardens. Currently, it looks very much like the Ayyappanthangal-Kattupakkam-Poonamallee belt, where it is located. The site is 1 km off the Mount-Poonamallee road and about 2 km from Jeeva Nagar, towards Ayyappanthangal. Take second road to the left after crossing Ayyappanthangal bus terminus, while travelling towards Kattupakkam from SRMC.

Here is a slideshow of the Bougainvillea property.

Alliance Bougainvillea

Watch a slideshow of Jeeva Nagar Then and Now

2007-01-07T10:11:00.000-08:00

Those of us who hoped to see Jeeva Nagar, Mangadu come up as a healthy, clean and attractive neighbourhood have been disappointed by the lack of action by the promoter, BLB Estates and the Mangadu Panchayat to repair the roads so that we could enter our properties and start building.

I have dug up the photos of Jeeva Nagar from the time it was first created and announced by BLB Estates and sold to us, and its status after the monsoon of 2005 and 2006.

Here is an online album. If you would like to add your own photos, please mail them to me.

Jeeva Nagar

Power Point Show on Jeeva Nagar

2007-01-01T23:20:00.000-08:00

Greetings to all members for 2007. Let us hope the New Year will bring everyone peace and happiness.

During a recent visit (Sunday, December 31, 2006) I could see that little had changed in Jeeva Nagar. The rainwater and sewage mix was still stagnating in several plots and it was impossible to move around the layout.

Watchman Karuna said BLB Estates had instructed him to clear the thorny bushes and arrange for raising of road level. We have to see whether BLB will deliver on this matter.

Meanwhile here is a powerpoint show on the latest situation, with an appeal to the Kancheepuram District Collectorate.

This presentation should also be an eye-opener for those purchasing other properties about the failure of CMDA-approved layouts and the role of developers.

Another post of a neighbouring real estate development, the Bougainvillea site promoted by Alliance with pictures will shortly be published.

Secretary

Growing in importance

2006-12-21T05:17:00.000-08:00

Despite the shabby treatment meted out to the plot buyers at Jeeva Nagar by BLB Estates and the Mangadu Panchayat, as a result of which they are having to bear additional costs to handle water stagnation, the entire area in which the layout is situated is growing in importance.

The attractiveness of the Mount - Poonamallee Road is becoming clear from the choice of the area by two major real estate companies, DLF and Alliance, to develop properties makes this clear.

As a layout located just a couple of hundred metres off the main road and surrounded by residential colonies such as Audco Nagar makes Jeeva Nagar even more attractive. By that we mean the preservation of a sense of residential quiet in the layout, while still being accessible from an arterial road.

Click here to see the planned development by Alliance, close to the Ayyappanthangal Bus Terminus. There is a map of this location here.

Mangadu Panchayat yet to act

2006-12-18T07:20:00.000-08:00

The Mangadu Panchayat has not acted yet to make the plots coming under Jeeva Nagar accessible to the owners. Originally, it did not ensure that BLB Estates creates proper roads as per civil engineering norms.

As a result of such indifference, the area continues to be under water with even the access roads cut off.

This situation makes everyone wonder whether there is any significance to approvals granted by Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) and the Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP)which are prominently advertised by plot sellers and promoters.

What it was like when Jeeva Nagar was formed

2006-12-11T23:48:00.000-08:00

This picture shows what the Jeeva Nagar, Mangadu-Kattupakkam landscape looked like, when it was formed and advertised by BLB Estates.

If you look carefully, you will notice that the roads have been formed level with the ground, despite the ground being lower than adjacent localities by a few feet!

Wikimapia and Jeeva Nagar

2006-12-11T00:53:00.000-08:00

A quick check on Wikimapia shows that the imagery of Mount - Poonamallee Road at the Kattupakkam point is rather outdated.

It shows a rather poorly developed AUDCO Nagar and a large agricultural field that has since become Jeeva Nagar.

Look at the image here.

What is worth noticing is the spread of Southern Shelters on the opposite Northern side of the road. A current image should show Jeeva Nagar to be a neatly demarcated layout with a few houses, and AUDCO Nagar to be a fully built-up locality.

BLB Estates Promise

2006-12-08T07:31:00.000-08:00

The following is the promise held out to buyers of property, notably NRIs by the real estate firm, BLB Estates, Chennai

"KIND ATTN. NRI'S
This is for your kind information that we provide 5 years care taker service for property purchased from us. BLB one of the pioneer in the sale of Government approved housing plots in and around chennai give much importance to the fasil (sic)free transaction as well as utmost satisfaction of the customers. When you buy property from BLB REST ASSURED."

Whether the scenes of Jeeva Nagar that we have shown here meet these standards, you judge!

A view of Jeeva Nagar, Mangadu after the rain

2006-12-07T06:25:00.000-08:00

Jeeva Nagar on the map

2006-12-05T01:47:00.000-08:00

Here is a map of the area in which Jeeva Nagar is located

Jeeva Nagar, Mangadu-Kattupakkam Map courtesy of mapmyindia.com

Click on the link and look for AUDCO Nagar. You will see how close this location is to the Mount-Poonamallee Road!

ETA Ascon announces project near Jeeva Nagar

2006-12-04T23:13:00.000-08:00

Dubai-based international property developers ETA Ascon have announced a project to put up residential apartments right next to Jeeva Nagar and Audco Nagar.

An announcement of this proposed development has been put up at the site, on the Northern side of the Mount - Poonamallee Road off Jeeva Nagar.

This is another indicator of the growing importance and strategic location of Jeeva Nagar.

Jeeva Nagar Off To A Good Start

2006-12-04T01:06:00.000-08:00

Socially responsible property owners and residents of Jeeva Nagar, a residential layout in one of Chennai's fast growing suburbs that connects the Sriperumbudur development corridor with the urban conveniences of downtown Chennai have come together to pursue common interests.

This is a layout approved by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA).

The layout coming under Mangadu Town Panchayat bears the PPD LO Number 134/2003, giving you the assurance that it is fully approved by Greater Chennai's statutory development authority.

The sanctioned layout is for 102 plots and it is located just a couple of hundred metres off the four lane Mount - Poonamallee and behind an already developed residential enclave, AUDCO Nagar. (This is important to note, because many similar layouts are a few km off this arterial road).

Owners Will Ensure Their Interests

The owners and residents are pursuing various actions to ensure that the developer of this layout, BLB Estates of T.Nagar, Chennai fulfils all its obligations promised under the original sale terms. This is a point for NRIs to note.

For your information, BLB Estates gives its contact information as follows:

Sree Audisesha Bhavan, New No.21, Chinnaiah Street, T. Nagar, Chennai – 600 017. Ph. No.28345104, 28345105, 28345106, 28345107

We have found that although this is prime land developed as a sanctioned layout and there is good infrastructure in adjoining municipal areas, the promoter has not provided some basic requirements as agreed upon, such as roads meeting professional standards, avenue trees and drainage to avoid water stagnation during the monsoon and street lighting. The road level is much below that of adjoining Badrimedu ward and AUDCO Nagar, Kattupakkam.

BLB Estates had promised to deploy a full-time watchman, but the residents are unhappy to note that this has not happened. The promoter has also not put up an arch at the entrance to the layout as agreed upon and advertised. All the poorly constructed tree guards made of bricks for avenue trees, displayed with much fanfare at the time of the sale are today found broken, possibly by unknown persons, apparently because of lack of supervision. These questions are being addressed by the residents and plot owners now.

The residents, through a newly formed Association, have taken up these issues with the promoter and the statutory authorities.

At left you find some recent pictures of Jeeva Nagar after the monsoon, which we are using to highlight the importance of demanding that promoters complete all their promised works to full satisfaction before effecting a sale. For articles on Jeeva Nagar on the Internet, click here

A letter identifying the teething problems with the fast-appreciating layout was published by one of India's leading newspapers, The Hindu, recently. The item with the headline Sewage Pumped into Residential Colony can be read here

An earlier publication in The Hindu called upon the Mangadu Panchayat to take over the common areas provided under the CMDA Approval conditions and develop them into parks as envisaged in the Approved Plan.

Vibrant Community

The good news is that Jeeva Nagar is developing into a vibrant community of residents, most of them owners of property. We pursue ethical solutions and believe in demanding and securing our rights under legal and commercial agreements with the authorities and the layout promoters, BLB Estates.

What you can be assured of is that Jeeva Nagar is among the few approved residential layouts where the owners are united in protecting the interests of the community at large including those in neighbouring wards and other Panchayats such as Kattupakkam.

If you own property in Jeeva Nagar, please do contact us by email and we would like you to join the common effort.

Our address is : jeevanagar@gmail.com