MADURAI
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday restrained private water packaging units in Virudhunagar district from drawing groundwater for commercial purposes.
A Division Bench of Justices J. Nisha Banu and M. Dhandapani ordered the restraint while hearing a public interest litigation petition that named at least 22 such units operating in Virudhunagar district.
The petitioner, Videyal Veeraperumal, complained that these units were indulging in commercial exploitation of groundwater in the region.
They were drawing water without the no-objection certificate/licence and in some cases beyond the permissible limit. He complained that this practice had been there for long in Virudhunagar district. Though several complaints had been made to the district authorities, they did not take action.
With the district facing drought and there was scarcity of drinking water, exploitation of groundwater must be stopped. He further sought a direction to the authorities to take appropriate action against commercial exploitation of natural resources.