CHENNAI: The menace of illegal extraction of groundwater in villages dotting the city’s suburbs seems to continue unabated. The latest village which has literally become a den for water mafia is Illalur in Kancheepuram district.
Located about 45 km south of Chennai, Illalur is surrounded by reserved forest and is blessed with good groundwater table, which is now being exploited by private water tankers. At least, 20 borewells sunk in agricultural lands are subjected to intense extraction of water 24x7 to be supplied to various multi-storied apartments, IT parks, hotels, educational institutions along the Rajiv Gandhi Salai (Old Mahabalipuram Road).
The size of the illegal business is baffling and it is done under the nose of officials.A visit to the village by Express on Thursday afternoon revealed at least 15 borewells fitted with pipes being used to fill the tankers with 24,000 litres and 30,000 litres capacity, were operational. The tankers were making a beeline. In just two hours, nearly 50 tankers would have zoomed past.
in a tanker | Express
When Express approached one of the drivers, in the guise of a customer, he spilled the beans. “We pay Rs 350 to Rs 400 per tanker per trip for a 24,000 litre tanker and Rs 600 for a 30,000 litre tanker lorry. The water will be sold to various establishments on OMR and Chennai. I alone operate at least eight trips a day and there are several other water supply companies,” he said.
Asked how much they charge for a tanker, he said the cost of water is fixed based on the distance. For instance, one tanker of water from Illalur to Perungudi would cost about Rs 3,000. He said that each borewell point has a separate electricity connection and a diesel generator. The farm land owner pays close to Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 as electricity bill monthly. “The water quality is assured. The TDS level is 200 mg/l,” he said sharing his owner’s number to book a load and a bottle of water to taste.
Though the villagers are aware of the danger of over-exploitation of groundwater, their voices are suppressed by people with political connections. A politician from a major party, who has a house at Illalur, is one among many backing this thriving illegal business. He proudly told the Express that during summer his village quenched the thirst of Chennaites.
A local farmer P Rajendran said the menace has spread to neighbouring villages i.e Kattur, Ammapettai and Thaiyur as well. “The adverse effects of this illegal business has started to take its toll. Earlier, we used to get water at 45 ft, but now it has depleted to 75 ft. There is none to question. In fact, two of the illegal borewells belong to a police officer working in CID department in Chennai,” he said. When contacted, Collector P Ponniah said the administration has already taken cognizance of the issue. Instructions have been given to collect details about the number of borewells sunk in Illalur and nearby villages and necessary action will be taken.
Meanwhile, a representative of the South Chennai Private Water Tanker Lorry Owners’ Association says there is a huge gap between demand and supply. “We are only serving the people. Even Metro Water draws groundwater from borewells.”
S. Janakarajan, Professor at Madras Institute of Development Studies, who carried out a number of studies on water for years, urged the government to come out with a fresh law at the earliest, as the absence of a legal framework was fraught with dangerous consequences. “After Tamil Nadu Groundwater (Development and Management) Act, 2003 was repealed, the government has not come up with any law to regulate the business. We can’t stop tapping groundwater, but some mechanism like licensing can be brought in to avoid over-exploitation,” he said.
