Perform or pay up

CHENNAI: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) issued a show cause notice to Public Works Department (PWD), on Monday, for failing to restore Chennai waterways — Cooum, Adyar and Buckingham Canal — and questioned why a performance guarantee of Rs 10 crore should not be imposed.

When Tamil Nadu counsel asked four years time to clear the rampant encroachments abutting the waterways and take-up restoration works, the green bench judicial member Justice K Ramakrishnan grew agitated and asked why can’t the encroachments be cleared in one year. He asked the government to submit a detailed action plan before the next date of hearing scheduled for February 13.

NGT has already imposed Rs 2 crore penalty on PWD in the same case, which was stayed by Madras High Court in an interim order. The tribunal said the report on the removal of the encroachments was disappointing. “It is stated that out of total 26,300 encroachments put together (i.e. 18,300 in the Chennai Municipal Authority Area, 100 in Thiruvallur district and 7,900 in Kancheepuram district) only 408 have been evicted leaving the balance of 25,892 encroachments still to be dealt with. Under the JNNURM Scheme, administrative sanction for an estimated Rs 603.67 crores was obtained, but no tangible action was taken for mitigation of the problems,” NGT order reads.

PWD counsel Rakesh Sharma told Express that a detailed response will be filed to the tribunal’s show cause notice. “Eviction of the encroachments in Adyar and Cooum rivers is in progress on a priority basis. So far, 4,161 and 7,166 encroachments have been evicted and rehabilitated in Adyar and Cooum rivers respectively and further eviction is in progress. Encroachments in Buckingham Canal will be taken up after the completion of works in Adyar and Cooum,” Sharma said.

This stand of government is in total contrast to its earlier view. “Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust (CRRT) made a submission before Southern Bench of NGT that restoration of Buckingham Canal was pivotal and would be dealt with first. Now, authorities seem to have taken a U-turn,” said social activist Jawaharlal Shanmugam