MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the state government to appoint a nodal officer to coordinate with all the departments to prevent the pollution of Vaigai River. A division bench of justices GR Swaminathan and B Pugalendhi was hearing a batch of petitions seeking to prevent pollution in the river.
The Madurai Corporation and Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, in pursuant to the earlier directions, submitted status reports on the steps taken to prevent sewage inflow into the Vaigai. The state also submitted that a board meeting of the Tamil Nadu Water Resources Conservation and Rivers Restoration Corporation (TNWRC & RRC) is to be convened on March 26, in this regard.
Taking this into account, the judges directed the state to ensure that both the status reports be placed before the TNWRC & RRC board meeting. The response of the board to the status reports shall be communicated to the court, they said, and also directed the state to come out with the proposal for appointing a nodal officer, who would have a fixed tenure for three years. The case has been adjourned to April 7.