Swarna Shukla –
Published On: December 1, 2021 at 19:30 IST
Madras High Court Acting Chief Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari deliberated numerous litigations filed in the Court complaining of pervasive encroachment of waterbodies across the State.
The Court stated, “The Court would not be flooded with such cases if only the government officials concerned performed their duties diligently and initiated appropriate action.”
The Court made observations during the hearing of Public Interest Litigation (PIL) Petition filed by a resident of Sothupakkam against the encroachment of a lake and a pond near the Melmaruvathur bus stand in Kancheepuram District.
When the Governing Council discovered that there was abuse during the previous administration, even though the current administration was in power for only six months, the incumbent Judge Munishwar Nath Bhandri said that the officials remained the same, although he said the government might be new.
The Petitioner R. Raja in his Affidavit said the Keezhmaruvathur lake and a pond adjacent to it had vanished since 2015 due to encroachment by shops, pay-and-use toilets and parking lots. The lake is no more useful for irrigation and the encroachers have polluted the ground water.
Furthermore, the Petitioner filed a complaint regarding the encroachments, with the Block Development Officer in August 2015 and followed it up periodically. Yet no action had been taken till date.
The Officials were under obligation to keep the waterbodies free of encroachments, under Tamil Nadu Protection of Tanks and Eviction of Encroachment Act, 2007, however they failed to do so.