CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) to remove even the last bit of debris dumped on the Kosasthalaiyar river. Taking a grim view of TANGEDCO’s submission that 80 per cent of the debris had been removed, the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice PD Audikesavalu asked the chairperson of the power entity to look into the matter.
“The chairperson or the principal executive officer of TANGEDCO will look into the matter and ensure that the last bit of foreign material put in the waterbody in course of construction has been removed,” the bench said. It ordered that a report in this regard should be filed when the matter comes up for hearing a week after Deepavali break.
“TANGEDCO will submit a status report indicating that 80 per cent of the offending material has already been removed. It will not do for TANGEDCO to remove part of the material and leave the remainder in the waterbody that would choke the same or impede flow of water,” the judges said. “The entirety of the rubbish, concrete and construction material has to be removed and no trace of it left behind in the waterbody,” they affirmed.