COIMBATORE: Residents of Kalappanayakanpalayam in Coimbatore have alleged that soil excavated from the pond behind Somayampalayam Panchayat Office at Kalappanaickenpalayam during CSR desilting work was illegally taken to private lands and commercially sold.
A Chennai-based private firm obtained permission to desilt and restore the pond (Ramasamy Nagar Kuttai) in February and carried out work with financial and logistical support from the sponsors.
According to the order, the Coimbatore district administration permitted desilting the pond and strengthening the bund to prevent sewage stagnation at the water body and set up a walking track for the village. Along with the permission, they were given a set of 18 instructions, particularly on the removal of invasive Seemai Karuvelam trees and utilisation of soil.
They were instructed to use the soil from the pond to strengthen the bund, and it would not be taken out for any purposes. However, it is alleged in the complaint that large quantities of excavated soil and silt were transported to nearby private lands and a portion of it was allegedly sold for commercial gain under the guise of the restoration work. A resident from the village has sent a petition to the Water Resources Department seeking investigation into the water body restoration.
A resident said that the soil taken out from the pond was used on private land to level the grounds where the brick kilns illegally excavated the soil a few years back. "There is no audit on transporting the soil. So we demand a fair inquiry into this issue", they said.
The complainant also demanded verification of the quantity of soil excavated, satellite-image comparison and physical measurement of the pond, scientific testing of soil dumped in private lands, verification of vehicles and routes used for transportation, and a detailed investigation into records related to the work, according to the complaint.
A senior official from the rural development and panchayat raj department in Coimbatore said that they will look into the complaint and inquire about the project.