Plea to desilt Sellur tank
The Hindu
Madurai High Court directs Corporation to file status report on Sellur tank desilting and restoration petition.
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed Madurai Corporation to file a status report to a public interest litigation petition that sought a direction to the authorities to take appropriate steps to desilt Sellur tank and remove water hyacinth and Prosopis Juliflora from the tank.
A Division Bench of Justices R. Subramanian and L. Victoria Gowri sought the report from the authorities to the petition filed by R. Abubakkar of Madurai.
The petitioner said that the desilting works were last carried out in the tank in 2019. The removal of Prosopis Juliflora was part of the desilting work, but it was not removed completely. Water hyacinth was also spread over the tank. The tank had deteriorated over the years, he said.
He said that the ayacut of Sellur tank is 72.73 hectares. However, at present, there was no cultivation in the ayacut area, since the whole ayacut has been urbanised. The tank is used for groundwater recharge for the surrounding areas. It is just and necessary to rejuvenate Sellur tank, he said.
The petitioner sought a direction to the authorities to take appropriate steps to desilt Sellur tank and deepen the catchment area, remove water hyacinth and Prosopis Juliflora from the tank, prevent the mixing of waste into the tank and repair the fence around the tank.
He said that he had made a representation to the authorities. However, no action has been taken so far, he said. The court adjourned the hearing in the case till September 20.