CHENNAI: Stressing the need for safeguarding waterbodies and augmenting storage capacity, the Madras High Court on Tuesday directed the Tamil Nadu government to file a detailed report on the steps taken so far in this regard within two weeks.
The direction was issued by the first bench of Acting Chief Justice D Krishnakumar and Justice K Kumaresh Babu while hearing a public interest litigation petition filed by advocate B Jagannath. He had sought directions to the government to take steps for augmenting the holding capacity of waterbodies that supply potable water to Chennai city.
The bench said water is the most basic necessity for all people and so, the government should take every action in its capacity to safeguard waterbodies and augment holding capacity so that surplus water could be saved from running off into the sea during the monsoon. Such steps shall cover the entire state, not just the waterbodies around Chennai city, the bench said.
The petition, filed in 2019, stated that a huge quantity of water was being ‘wasted’ every year during the period of northeast monsoon whereas Chennai city had been experiencing scarcity in the summer. To address the issue, the petitioner had said that the authorities concerned must take steps for enhancing the water holding capacity and tapping rainwater.
State government pleader A Edwin Prabakar, representing the state, explained the measures taken by the water resources department in this regard.