Chennai: Remove squatters from Ramapuram lake now, says NGT

CHENNAI: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed revenue authorities to remove all encroachments along Ramapuram Lake immediately.
In 2015, Greater Chennai Corporation, which maintains the lake, identified 250 families who have encroached on the lake area. About 79% of the water body, originally spread over 7.13 hectares, has been encroached by houses and shops, data revealed.
The civic body requested the revenue department in 2015, 2018 and 2019 to clear the encroachments and hand over the remaining lake portion to it so further pollution can be prevented. But six years on, the Maduravoyal tahsildar is yet to earmark the encroached portion, the civic body told the NGT. The corporation added that it was working with Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) and other related agencies to enumerate families living on encroached land and take a bio-survey so they can be resettled at TNSCB tenements.
“If civic body authorities enumerate these slum families and evict the 250 slum families, TNSCB can provide tenements for them at Perumbakkam,” the agency’s managing director said.
TNSCB is constructing 4,140 tenements at Perumbakkam, slated for completion by this year, as part of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) scheme, the MD told TOI. The corporation has to pay a beneficiary contribution of Rs 5 lakh per tenement (tentative).
When hearing the case in July, NGT Southern Zone ordered a water quality test at the lake by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB). On August 4, TNPCB told the tribunal that test results were awaited. Criticizing TNPCB for the delay, NGT directed the board to submit the report before the September 3 hearing.
Meanwhile, the civic body sanctioned Rs 93 lakh for renovating the existing lake and has completed construction of toe walls, stone pitching and baby pond to increase storage capacity.