NGT pulls up govt. agencies over inaction on lake encroachments

Tribunal criticises PWD, CMWSSB for not giving updates on Kolathur lake

The Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal has pulled up the Public Works Department, the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) and the District Collector for not providing any updates whether they have initiated proceedings to remove unauthorised encroachments from the Kolathur lake. The Bench had constituted a joint committee to ascertain the nature and extent of the lake, the nature of encroachments and the steps needed for restoring the lake and provide better storage capacity and whether there was any illegal dumping of garbage into the lake. The joint committee provided short-term and long-term action plans. “(For) most of the short-term timeline provided in the report, the period mentioned is over. Further, they wanted hydrological study for run-off estimation, hydrographic survey and design of drainage channel with the assistance of an expert body,” the Bench said.