CHENNAI: The Tambaram corporation has been accused of water body encroachments as few infrastructure projects were alleged to be on water bodies or adjoining areas.
On January 26, foundation stones were laid for construction of a health and wellness centre on a vacant land at Aishwarya Nagar in Chrompet. But some of the residents opposed the construction work alleging that the land was part of Putheri Lake. Activists allege that the lake bund is continuously encroached and the land is what remains of the bund.
According to locals, an earlier plan by the revenue department to construct a building was also halted following opposition. “Putheri Lake was encroached even before the merger with the Tambaram Corporation. But authorities continued to flout the rules and turned a blind eye to encroachments,” said Anandan, a resident.
The sewage pumping station in Pammal was alleged to be on a site belonging to a temple pond. However, the corporation had clarified that it is not a full fledged water body and necessary permissions were obtained from concerned authorities.
The National Green Tribunal in a judgement in July 2022 directed the Chengalpattu district administration, water resources department and the Tambaram Corporation to conduct a survey and fix boundaries of the lake. “If there is any encroachment, then they are directed to take steps to remove the encroachment and protect the water body against encroachment and pollution,” the judgement read.
One-and-a-half years later, activists allege that the order is not implemented. “There are many encroachments including a few corporation buildings in the lake area. But authorities are hesitant to act on it,” said David Manohar, a resident and activist.
Revenue department officials said that the land parcel is partly poramboke and partly lake area. “Due to this mixed nature, we avoided construction works in the area,” the official said. However corporation officials dismissed allegations of encroachments of water bodies. “The land is not encroached. We have verified records before initiating any works. We are not unaware of the legal consequences that could follow, if we had encroached,” a senior official said.