CHENNAI: For the second day, residents of Jaganathapuram, Sasi Nagar, and Gandhi Nagar near Velachery Lake staged a protest on Monday against the biometric survey initiated by the Water Resources Department (WRD), fearing that the process will result in their eviction. They called off the protest and decided to allow the survey to proceed after Health Minister Ma Subramanian held a discussion with them.
Subramanian visited the protesters and told them that the survey, mandated by court orders, aimed to identify the residents.
He assured that the state government would advocate for the residents’ right to remain here in the residential area, as they are not encroaching on the lake but are staying only on the bund. The minister also added that in order to support the residents effectively, the government must first know their exact numbers and hence, the biometric survey was essential.
Meanwhile, the residents said Velachery Lake, which once spanned 265 acres, was reduced to the present 55-acre extent due to the government’s reclassification of land for construction. They argued that while large areas were reclassified for buildings, they resided only on the bund, not encroaching on the lake.
School and college students were part of the protest demanding an end to the survey. A 15-year-old student, Visesha M, said, “Relocation to Perumbakkam, 25-30 km away in Chengalpattu district, would disrupt our education. We pay all taxes to stay here and are not encroaching on the lake.”
Responding to their claims, Minister Subramanian said the lake area was reclassified and allocated to the Tamil Nadu Housing Board and Slum Clearance Board for constructing houses in 2005.
However, in 2007, the Supreme Court imposed a nationwide ban on reclassifying lake lands for other purposes. Since then, such reclassifications have not been carried out anywhere in the country, and pattas cannot be issued for these lands.