The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Team inspects lake in Pammal

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 04, 2006
ePaper

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Team inspects lake in Pammal

Staff Reporter

Following Madras High Court's order

ON THE SPOT STUDY: K. Venkatramani, Advocate Commissioner, inspecting the Tirupananthaal lake in Pammal on Sunday. — Photo : A. Muralitharan

TAMBARAM : Advocate Commissioner K. Venkatramani, appointed by the Madras High Court, visited Pammal and inspected the Tirupananthaal Lake following representations from civic groups about the discharge of sewage into the water body.

The Advocate Commissioner inspected the lake, along with G. Sankaran, Special Government Pleader and counsel for Pammal Municipality, and C. Chandrakumar, counsel for the petitioners, including the Federation of Residents Welfare Associations of Pammal and a couple of senior citizens.

Officials of the municipality were present during the inspection.

Residents said the lake, which was once more than 10 acres, had shrunk to about seven acres owing to encroachments that had political support. An initiative from retired persons and members of civic groups in Pammal led to the Kancheepuram district administration in 2002 sanctioning

Rs. 8 lakhs to carry out improvement works in the lake. Residents pooled Rs. 2 lakh and built inlet channels and an outlet point. They also strengthened the bund and put in place a walkers' pathway with landscaping.

Court direction

When politicians and elected representatives of Pammal attempted to thwart the development works and the Pammal Municipality started building culverts and drains near the lake with a sole intention of discharging sewage into it, residents approached the Madras High Court to protect the water body.

Despite the court's specific directions in June this year to the Kancheepuram district administration and Pammal municipality to ensure that sewage did not pollute the lake, no steps were taken to prevent the pollution, the residents said, adding they were left with no option but to file a petition of contempt against the government agencies. On Sunday, residents put forth their views on the importance of this lake to the Advocate Commissioner and also narrated the struggles they had gone through to protect the lake.

Councillors threaten

Some the councillors, however, said that if necessary, the lake could be filled up with sewage as hygiene was more important in areas near the lake. Even officials of the local body told the Advocate Commissioner that they had no other go but to discharge sewage into the lake.

Even as the team was conducting inspections, councillors belonging to the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam threatened them with dire consequences if they repeatedly obtained orders from the High Court.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Tamil Nadu