The ruling came in the dismissal of an appeal filed in 2020 by a group of land buyers who challenged the 2019 judgment handed down by a single judge in a 2007 court petition.
The state government cannot allow land earmarked for public purposes such as parks, schools, shops, construction of wells and laying of high-voltage power lines to be converted into residential land by giving retrospective effect of reducing the Open Space Reserve (OSR) area, the Madras High Court has ruled.
A bench of SM Subramaniam and Mohammed Shaffiq observed that any reduction in OSR area required to be allotted by real estate developers can only have a prospective effect and cannot be applied to floor plans of residential plots which were approved much before the reduction came into effect.
The decision came while dismissing an appeal filed in 2020 by a group of land buyers challenging the 2019 judgment passed by a single judge in a 2007 court petition. The bench ordered action against the cooperative and government officials responsible for converting OSR land into residential land.
The judges said they found no fault in the 2019 judgment delivered by Justice M Dhandapani, which quashed a 2005 government order that allowed the Peelamedu Industrial Workers Cooperative Housing Construction Society in Coimbatore to convert common public land into residential land.
In his verdict, the single judge pointed out that the cooperative had acquired large plots of land in Sowripalayam village to promote single-family houses. The first layout plan was submitted in 1955 to create 92 residential areas and during that time 24% of the layout was shown as reserved for general purposes.
In 1963, four more plots were approved for housing, reducing the land set aside for common purposes to 22%, and this was further reduced to 15.9% in 1968, when a further nine plots were approved. In 1984, the association again adopted a resolution on additional plots of land for its members.
As the site had since become part of the Coimbatore Corporation, further revision of the layout was sought using a new law that required only 10% of the total layout area to be set aside for general public purposes. The revision was approved by the ÚV 2005
Justice Dhandapani quashed the GO after observing that the government could not be allowed to encroach on open spaces which were an essential feature of any residential development as they not only serve as lung space but also fulfill the normal recreational requirements of the residents.
Concurring with the single judge’s view, a division bench headed by Justice Subramaniam directed the Coimbatore Corporation to take possession of the OSR land as approved in 1968 within three months and maintain it for the benefit of the residents of the locality.
Published – 01 Dec 2025 21:23 IST
