Take over 17-acre land in Porur lake, MLA urges O Panneerselam

After meeting the minister at the secretariat, Beem Rao said he has asked the minister to direct his PWD officials to scrap the plan to construct bund across the lake to separate its main water storing portion of the water body from the 17-acre private land.

“The private land is completely submerged under water. The officials are saying the land which falls under survey 151 belongs to private people. Hence they are constructing a bund to separate it,” he said.

However, National Green Tribunal bench has stayed the construction of bund across the lake. Considering the future drinking water requirement of the city and its helping recharge groundwater in the adjacent areas, the government should take over the private land after paying compensation to its owner and continue to store water in the full extent of the water body, the Marxist legislator demanded. “Considering the eternal water shortage faced by the city, the PWD should not give away a portion of water body to the private. On one hand the government is constructing a new reservoir in Thiruvallur to meet water requirements of the city, on the other hand it is giving away 17 acres of land which is under water to private people,” he noted.

The PWD has taken up restoration of Porur lake at a cost of Rs 20 crore. As per the proposal, the lake’s storage capacity would be increased from 46 million cubic feet to 70 mcft. The lake would be deepened one to two meters and Thanthikal channel, which links Porur tanks to Chembarampakkam reservoir, would also be improved.