1. The petitioner has invoked the extraordinary writ jurisdiction of this Court with a prayer for issuance of a writ in the nature of Mandamus, directing the respondents 1 to 4 to remove the encroachment in S.No.52, Panikkan Kuppam Village Panchayat, Panruti Taluk, Cuddalore District or any other appropriate writ or this Court may deem fit and proper in the circumstances of the case.

2. The case set out by the petitioner in the affidavit is that Panikkan Kuppam Panchayat has three wards. The Village Panchayat is vested with the roads within the panchayat limits, which are being maintained by it. The road connecting Panikkan Kuppam with the Kumbakonam road vested with the Village Panchayat, which is maintained by the fourth respondent. As per the revenue records, the road is measuring R.S.No.52 and it is classified as road poramboke. On the east of the road about 30,000 Sq. feet in S.No.75/2 is owned by the fifth respondent. The fifth respondent, without applying and obtaining sanction from the fourth respondent, constructed permanent structures on about 5500 Sq. feet. Though the fifth respondent cannot put up super structures without obtaining permission from the Village Panchayat, with the constructions referred to above, the fifth respondent has encroached on the public road, which is vested with the panchayat. He is putting up a compound wall in S.No.52 thereby encroaching a sizable portion of the road. The case of the petitioner is that Section 131(1) of the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) prohibits erecting structures on the roads.

3. Section 131(1) of the Act reads as under:-

"131. prohibition against obstructions in or over public roads, etc.- (1) No person shall, *except as permitted by rules made under this Act and except in accordance with the conditions imposed by any licence made requisite by such rules-

(a) build any wall or erect any fence or other obstruction or projection or make any encroachment whatsoever, whether permanent or temporary, [in or over any public road or any property vested in or belonging to or regulated or owned by, a village panchayat or panchayat union council];

(b) make any hole or deposit any matter [in or upon any public road or any property vested in or belonging to or regulated or owned by, a village panchayat or panchayat union council];

(c) work a quarry in or remove stone, earth or other material from any place within twenty metres of a public road or of other immovable property vesting in or belonging to a village panchayat or panchayat union council, provided that nothing in this clause shall be deemed to apply to any work which, in the opinion of the Inspector, is done in connection with a bona fide agricultural operation;

(d) erect any building over any drain or any part thereof;

(e) plant any tree on any public road or other property vesting in or belonging to a village panchayat or a panchayat union council; or

(f) fell, remove, destroy, lop or strip bark, leaves, or fruits from, or otherwise damage, any tree which is growing on any such public road or other property or on any poramboke land, the use of which is regulated by a village panchayat under Section 134 or Section 135 and the right to which has not been established by such person as vesting in or belonging to him."

4. Section 131(2) of the Act casts a duty on the Village Administrative Officer to report on the encroachment of properties vested in Village Panchayat to the Executive Authority and also the Revenue Department. Under Rule 9 of G.O.Ms.No.150, Rural Development, dated 21.07.1999 also prohibits the putting up permanent structures over the road.

5. The case of the petitioner is that a representation was made to the respondents 1 to 4 on 22.07.2010. The fourth respondent, in response to the representation, stated that on 29.07.2010, he has also filed a petition before the first respondent stating that he cannot remove the encroachment and it could be done only throug