The Hindu : New Delhi News : Supreme Court stays ruling on canal issue

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 11, 2007
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New Delhi

Supreme Court stays ruling on canal issue

J. Venkatesan

High Court had upheld State Government move

Government planned to acquire 224 acres near Korattur
The aim was to drain rainwater into the Bay of Bengal

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed a Madras High Court judgment upholding the acquisition of over 224 acres of land near Korattur in Chennai to drain excess rainwater from the city to the Bay of Bengal.

The State Government had planned to close the Korattur Tank right flank and divert surplus water to the Madhavaram tank by digging a new channel on the lands acquired.

The High Court had dismissed a batch of writ petitions from the land owners challenging the acquisition of their lands as well as the scheme to divert the surplus water from the tank.

Acting on a batch of appeals against the impugned judgment, a Bench of Justice B.N. Agrawal and Justice P.P. Naolekar stayed the operation of the judgment and issued notice to the State Government and other authorities.

The appellants submitted that the proposed canal would pass through polluted waterbodies to one containing fresh rainwater, giving rise to fears of pollution of the source of drinking water in water-scarce Chennai which might lead to pollution/salination of underground water through percolation/seepage of polluted/sea water.

They said that the natural overflow from the Ambattur, Korattur and Kolathur tanks used to drain into the Cotton Canal through Madhavaram right bank surplus channel. The channel had shrunk due to encroachment.

Consequently, the State Government decided to construct a new channel to connect all the tanks and issued a notification to acquire over 224 acres of land on which several multi-storey buildings had been constructed.

‘Issues not studied well’

They said the High Court had failed to consider the issues in the right perspective and had upheld the acquisition of lands as well as the new scheme for diversion of water.

They sought quashing of the impugned judgment and an interim stay of its operation.

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