CHENNAI: The Greater Chennai Corporation has listed Perumalkoil lake, Assisi Nagar lake and Jangirishop lake as ‘fully encroached’, in response to an RTI application by Chennai-based citizens group Arappor Iyakkam, that sought the list of waterbodies under its control.
While several other waterbodies under Corporation have been taken up for restoration, some with detailed project report (DPR) in place and some in tendering phase, response showed that DPRs for the three lakes were yet to be prepared.
The lake connecting Perumalkoil and Manjambakkam, which is one of those listed as fully encroached, spans across 2711.39 m² whereas Assisi Nagar lake stretches across 4370 m² and the Jangirishop kulam, 4168 m².
“We filed the RTI plea because the list of lakes under the Corporation was not available in the public domain. This would also help residents keep track of the work going on in the waterbodies in their locality,” said Jayaram Venkatesan, convener of Arappor Iyakkam.
The city Corporation has 210 waterbodies under its control. The waterbodies were mapped by Corporation officials and efforts to prepare DPRs for restoration of around 100 waterbodies were mad.