CHENNAI: The southern bench of the National Green Tribunal has suggested the state government to convert a portion of Madras Race Club land into a lake to mitigate urban flooding.
The government recently had taken possession of the race club land measuring 160.86 acres, spanning Venkatapuram, Adyar and Velachery.
On Sunday, it had issued orders to transform 118 acres of the land into an eco-park featuring a public horticulture garden, green spaces and other public utilities to enhance the people's physical and mental well-being, while boosting the city’s green cover.
However, the NGT bench, which has been hearing a case on Velachery lake getting polluted with sewage and flooding, on Monday, asked the government to explore the possibility of creating a lake in the proposed eco-park to hold rainwater during the monsoon that would boost water table as well as mitigate the problem of flooding.
The bench has posted the case for final hearing on Tuesday and sought response from the state government. Additional Advocate General J Ravindran will represent the government in the final hearing.
During the last hearing, the NGT had directed the forest department and Water Resources Department to identify the waterbodies within the Guindy National Park, and if available, make use of the same by deepening them. “We also directed the WRD and the Forest department to inspect and report to us.
In addition, the WRD and Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) were also directed to furnish the list of tanks in the upstream area of the Velachery lake for enhancing storage capacity. However, despite the urgency, the reports are yet to be furnished,” the bench said, directing the Additional Chief Secretary to Government, WRD to file the report.
The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) is working on a project to renovate the Velachery Lake by deepening it at cost of Rs 23.50 cr under the ‘Lake Front Development Scheme’, by which the capacity of the tank will be increased to about 22% from its present stage. The chief secretary has directed the officials of the WRD and CMDA to explore the possibilities of deepening the lake so as to increase its capacity by 50%. Now, the capacity of the lake is 4.35 Mcft.
In a status report submitted before the NGT, Chennai corporation said the original extent of the Velachery lake was 107.48 hectares, which has diminished to 22.40 ha due to allotment of tank area for various government agencies, besides other encroachments.
PMK wants eco-park at Koyambedu
Chennai: Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) president Dr Anbumani Ramadoss on Monday reiterated his party’s demand to set up an eco park in Koyambedu, where the bus terminal was functioning. In a statement, Anbumani appreciated the state government for its efforts to establish an eco park in Guindy, where the MRC was functioning. “Since over 66.4 acres of land is available in Koyambedu, a park, featuring many amenities, can be set up, he added.
