Remove encroachments from waterbody in Madurai dist, govt told

CHENNAI: Holding that the tanks which do not fall within the purview of the Tamil Nadu Protection of Tanks and Eviction of Encroachment Act also requires protection from encroachment, the Madras High Court has directed the State to remove encroachments on such tanks or waterbodies following the provisions of Tamil Nadu Land Encroachment Act, 1905.

On quoting Benjamin Franklin that ‘We never know the worth of water, till the well is dry’ a division bench comprising Justice M Sathyanarayanan and Justice B Pugalendhi, said, “Though, time and again, specific directions have been given by the Supreme Court as well as this Court, the encroachments in waterbodies have not been eradicated in toto. Though actions were taken, here and there, to remove the encroachments, new encroachments are mushrooming on the other hand.”

The bench made the observation while passing orders on a batch of writ petitions seeking to direct the Tahsildar, Tiruparankundram Taluk, to cancel the patta issued to six persons in the Nilayur Periya Kanmoi and consequently direct the Madurai District Collector and PWD to remove the encroachments in the Kanmoi and restore it to its original position and preserve the same.

Based on this, the bench on citing certain directions offered by the Supreme Court orders and the Madras High Court regards the dire need to protect and safeguard water bodies, directed the district administration to remove the encroachments, after putting the encroachers on notice in accordance with the existing provisions of law, as expeditiously as possible.

“It is made clear that the alleged encroachers are entitled to raise their objections during the enquiry and after considering their objections, the concerned authorities shall pass appropriate orders. The entire exercise shall be completed within twelve weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order,” the bench said.

Justice Pugalendhi who penned the order also held, “Realising the importance of water, the Rulers of those days thought it fit to develop plenty of water bodies for the population which prevailed then. But we are now slowly allowing these water bodies to vanish into thin air with the population forgetting the fact that it is paramount to protect the existing water bodies.”