CHENNAI: Kerala government on Friday informed the southern bench of National Green Tribunal that it is constructing a weir on the Silandhi river to draw 3 MLD of water to supply drinking water to a nearby local body. It contended that since it was only a weir dam with a height of just 3.5 feet, an environmental clearance will not be required.
Hearing the arguments, the bench, however, directed Kerala to withhold the project work until all the approvals required for such a construction are in place.
The bench cited a photograph published in a newspaper and asked the water resources and forest departments of Kerala to ensure all required approvals are in place, as the issue involved Tamil Nadu as well. Tamil Nadu’s contention is that if a check dam is built in the river, which is a tributary of the Amaravathi that flows through the state, water flow to more than 55,000 acres in Tiruppur and Karur districts could be seriously affected.