The Madras high court has asked the public works department (PWD) to state why, even after 25 days of a directive, its personnel had not visited the Chennai Port Trust premises to see how de-silting machines worked.
"It is this lethargy which troubles us," the court said when a PIL filed by advocate V B R Menon came up for hearing before the first bench of chief justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R Mahadevan on Tuesday. The issue pertained to encroachments along the three major waterways in Chennai, 'inaction' on part of officials to remove and the failure to desilt these water bodies to ensure smooth discharge of water during the monsoon.
The PWD secretary, who had appeared in person before the bench on Tuesday, filed an affidavit stating that nearly 55,000 encroachments had been identified along the Adyar, Cooum and Buckingham Canal in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts. He said 4,134 encroachers had been evicted and resettled.
Noting that about 8,000 tenements were readily available with the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) to house encroachers, the official said more tenements were being constructed. "Eviction and resettlement are being done in a phased manner, depending on the availability of tenements, starting from the end of this month," the affidavit said.
He said about 80% of de-silting works on Adyar, Cooum and Buckingham canal had been completed, and they were nearing completion. Contractors had engaged to carry out de-silting work. Various checks were being done by the department engineers to ensure adequate depth of water bodies, using 'levelling instruments' as per the Tamil Nadu Building Practice Code.
Referring to the use of instruments as mentioned in the PIL to quantify silt, the affidavit said the 'quantum was being examined.'
This prompted the bench to say: "We are informed that despite a lapse of 25 days, the visit to the port trust to see the feasibility of the machine for measuring the extent of the silt has still not taken place. The PWD secretary states that the visit will be organised within a week and the necessary decision taken in a week thereafter."
The PIL said such de-silting exercise was being undertaken by different states and the materials gathered by him would be useful for Tamil Nadu. The judges asked him to hand over the materials to officials as an input.
"It is this lethargy which troubles us," the court said when a PIL filed by advocate V B R Menon came up for hearing before the first bench of chief justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice R Mahadevan on Tuesday. The issue pertained to encroachments along the three major waterways in Chennai, 'inaction' on part of officials to remove and the failure to desilt these water bodies to ensure smooth discharge of water during the monsoon.
The PWD secretary, who had appeared in person before the bench on Tuesday, filed an affidavit stating that nearly 55,000 encroachments had been identified along the Adyar, Cooum and Buckingham Canal in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts. He said 4,134 encroachers had been evicted and resettled.
Noting that about 8,000 tenements were readily available with the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) to house encroachers, the official said more tenements were being constructed. "Eviction and resettlement are being done in a phased manner, depending on the availability of tenements, starting from the end of this month," the affidavit said.
He said about 80% of de-silting works on Adyar, Cooum and Buckingham canal had been completed, and they were nearing completion. Contractors had engaged to carry out de-silting work. Various checks were being done by the department engineers to ensure adequate depth of water bodies, using 'levelling instruments' as per the Tamil Nadu Building Practice Code.
Referring to the use of instruments as mentioned in the PIL to quantify silt, the affidavit said the 'quantum was being examined.'
This prompted the bench to say: "We are informed that despite a lapse of 25 days, the visit to the port trust to see the feasibility of the machine for measuring the extent of the silt has still not taken place. The PWD secretary states that the visit will be organised within a week and the necessary decision taken in a week thereafter."
The PIL said such de-silting exercise was being undertaken by different states and the materials gathered by him would be useful for Tamil Nadu. The judges asked him to hand over the materials to officials as an input.