Madras HC raps Tamil Nadu for apathy towards lakes

CHENNAI: A TOI report — ‘Raw sewage, encroachments continue to threaten lakes’ — on the sorry state of lakes in the city echoed in the Madras high court, which censured the Tamil Nadu government for its apathy towards the ‘takeover’ of water bodies.
“Chennai was once a city of lakes. Where are the lakes now? It is the primary duty of the state to preserve the life source.If ever another World War happens, it will be only over water,” said a division bench of Justice M M Sundresh and Justice R Hemalath, asserting that development cannot be permitted at the cost of nature.
The court made the observation while pointing out a report published in TOI dated July 30. The article exposed how major lakes in the city suffered encroachment even after completion of eco-restoration work.
“We are coming across such issues almost every day. Regulations were framed decades ago, but lack of interest to implement the same has resulted in the situation,” the bench said.
A Tamil daily has allotted a separate column to highlight the issue, the judges added.
The bench then observed that the government must consider establishing a separate ministry for water conservation and amend existing laws so as to make the officials concerned accountable for such encroachments.
Noting that the authorities who are in slumber must be woken up, the court suo motu impleaded the home, local administration, PWD and Chennai Corporation as party respondents and directed them to file a detailed report on the issue.
The court passed the order on the plea moved by S Kalaiyarasi, a resident of Manjavadi village, Dharmapuri seeking action against encroachments along a water stream in the village.
“The government can use the aid of technology in dealing with such issues and laws that were framed several years ago requires to be amended,” the court said and adjourned the plea after four weeks for the authorities to file the report.