The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice PD Audikesavalu granted time after receiving a status report from the utility.

On October 22, while hearing a plea moved by Selvaraj Duraiswamy of Ennore stating that Tangedco illegally encroached and filled Kosasthalaiyar river and its backwaters to construct its coal conveyor, the court had directed it to remove all the foreign materials within October 30.

The Tangedco submitted an affidavit seeking four more weeks to finish the process. “We do not have the technology to remove the RCC pipes that had been laid deep inside the Kosasthalaiyar river,” it said in the status report.

Even as it did not hide its displeasure, the bench granted two more weeks. “There is no dispute that Tangedco, which is an extension of the State government, encroached into a waterbody and orders of the court was required for such encroachment to be removed,” the bench noted.

The petitioner further submitted that Tangedco should obtain a certificate from the PWD engineer to certify that all the debris have been removed. The official may take the assistance of the Water Resources Engineering (WRE) department to conduct a study whether all foreign materials were removed, he said.

The court then asked Tangedco to get the certificate from the PWD engineer, assisted by the WRE department of IIT-M, and posted the matter to November 26.