Vellore, T’malai officials survey encroachments on waterbodies

District officials currently undertaking a survey of encroachments on waterbodies following a Madras High Court directive have identified encroachments on 207 of the 697 irrigation tanks controlled by the PWD, official sources revealed.

Collector B Murugesh said, “in Tiruvannamalai district which is mostly agrarian, encroachments on water bodies are usually planted crops, but issue is that when such tanks get inflows — the reason for which they were created — encroachers have a habit of diverting such water into patta lands which affects crops there.”

It may be recalled that Moranam police near Cheyyar arrested two persons including a farmer who deliberately created a breach in an irrigation tank to divert water which was flooding his crops. A similar incident was also reported at Thurinjakuppam in Polur taluk.

Collectors all over TN have been ordered by chief secretary Irai Anbu to compile lists of structural and crop encroachments separately for submission to the Madras High Court.

Enquiries revealed that encroachers were mostly responsible for diversion of such water as crops on inundated patta lands were eligible for compensation but not that on encroached land.

Sources also revealed that Vellore district had more of structural encroachments due to appreciating land cost. An example is the Otteri lake in Vellore town and the town’s water source which did not see water for five years due to inlet channels being encroached upon.

Vellore Collector Kumaravel Pandian said the number of encroachments were being listed and the exact number would only be known later when the final list was compiled. However, it is Tirupattur district which has most encroachments as Palar river flows through the district.

“Though most encroaching crops were washed away by the persistent flooding in the recent rains, encroachers will be back once water level comes down” an official seeking anonymity said.