Tamil Nadu - Vellore   

Law sought to protect waterbodies

VELLORE: A special legislation should be enacted for the protection of small waterbodies such as irrigation tanks, community ponds, temple tanks and springs. Any kind of encroachment for commercial or other use by any agency including the government should be declared a criminal offence. This is one of the significant resolutions passed at a Stakeholders' Consultative Meeting on Protection of Waterbodies organised by the Madras Institute of Development Studies (MIDS) here on Monday with the objective of apprising the Tamil Nadu government of the need for immediate and appropriate action for the retrieval, protection and rejuvenation of small waterbodies such as minor irrigation tanks, diversion weirs and spring channels, which have been the most important traditional sources of surface irrigation in India.

Speakers who included representatives of non-governmental organisations, farmers' associations and students called for action beyond the conduct of seminars and workshops and submission of reports to the government, considering the fact that Tamil Nadu has lost several of these waterbodies which have been gobbled up by rapid urbanisation and industrialisation, and the fact that this would lead to severe water scarcity in future if left unchecked.

By another resolution, the meeting wanted all small waterbodies to be declared as historical monuments and protected. It called for strict enforcement of all existing laws relating to the protection of natural resources, ecology and environment and the monitoring of enforcement.

Jamuna Thiagarajan, president, Vellore District Palar River Protection Association, who inaugurated the meeting, said that there is a need to create special agriculture zones and special water zones in order to prevent acquisition of agricultural land or waterbodies for commercial purposes in view of the conversion of several waterbodies and large agricultural tracts into real estate property, industrial zones and special economic zones. Many irrigation tanks and waterbodies that existed between Vellore and Vaniyambadi and between Vellore and Chennai have been lost for commercial purposes, she said.

S. Janakarajan, Professor, MIDS said that in view of constant and rapid industrial growth and vast urban expansion, cities and towns experience severe stress following the factors such as scarcity of land for urban use, pollution, lack of adequate drinking water and sanitation, degradation of coastal ecology, seaward intrusion and mushrooming of slums.

In most of the situations, with a view to reducing stress, metro cities and towns eat into the peri-urban areas. This builds up pressure and often results in conflicting interests in the use of natural resources in peri-urban areas. Mushrooming of engineering colleges also eat into the waterbodies.

Twenty-five per cent of the 39,000 irrigation tanks in Tamil Nadu have already been lost to urbanisation and industrialisation. Urbanisation should be undertaken without affecting the waterbodies, he said.

A. Sivaraj of the Anti-Corruption Movement, Vellore, said that there was need for an effective law to protect waterbodies in order to prevent a situation where water would have to be obtained in ration shops in future. Mercy, NSS volunteer of Auxilium College wanted the issue to be taken to the students in colleges and schools who can form groups to disseminate the message.

S. Nagarajan, Collector of Vellore who delivered the valedictory address said that the Department of Rural Development is currently involved in mapping the status of the 39,000 irrigation tanks in the State by superimposing the latest satellite photos of the tanks obtained from the Institute for Remote Sensing, Anna University, on the topographic maps furnished by the Defence Ministry in the 1950s in order to assess the number of existing tanks and the number of tanks lost due to encroachment for taking appropriate measures.

The DRD would soon come out with a plan of action based on the report from the above study, he said.

Mr. Nagarajan said that the district administration would take steps to demarcate the minor irrigation tanks and Public Works Department tanks in the district by fixing stones on the corners of the boundaries. The work would be completed within two months, he said.

M.M. Basheer, social worker, Vaniyambadi, R. Mullai, State executive committee member of the Tamil Nadu Farmers Association, Dayanidhi of the All India Kisan Sangh, A.C. Venkatesan, farmer of Vaniyambadi and Gilbert Rodriguez, Director, GUIDE, Chengalpattu spoke.

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