A technical committee has reported that there will be no obstruction to water flow into Madipakkam lake and when the sewage pumping station at Rajendra Nagar in Pallavaram Municipality is commissioned, waste water will not enter the waterbody, thereby preventing water pollution.
The report is contained in an order of the First Bench of the Madras High Court consisting of Chief Justice M.Y.Eqbal and Justice T.S.Sivagnanam while disposing of a writ petition seeking to forbear the authorities from putting up any construction in the catchment area of the Madipakkam lake and to direct them to restore the catchment canal and culvert.
The petitioner, Karu Subramanian, said the 62-acre lake and the catchment and drainage channels to the lake overlapped the Madipakkam Panchayat and the Pallavaram Municipality. Several people living in and around Madipakkam and Keezhkattalai were benefited by the lake. In 2007, the Pallavaram Municipality demolished part of the catchment facility and built a concrete structure for sewage pumping terminal in the area. This had a drastic effect on the water level in various borewells in and around the lake.
The Pallavaram Municipality had now constructed a pit in the catchment area for locating sewage, storage and transport station.
The municipality said there was no sewage treatment at the pumping station site. The sewage collected would be pumped to the treatment plant. The lifting station would not obstruct flow of water to Madipakkam lake. The pumping station had been constructed based on the expert opinion by Anna University.
In its order, the Bench said the technical committee comprising experts was constituted to study whether there would be pollution impact on Madipakkam lake or whether it would affect the waterbody/course due to the roadside pumping station at Rajendra Nagar.
In view of the committee's stand and taking note of the municipality's counter affidavit, the Bench said public interest had been sufficiently safeguarded. No further order or direction was required. In view of the petitioner's apprehension that the stormwater drains had been blocked on account of silt, the CMWSSB submitted that steps would be taken to ensure that the drains would not be restricted and would be maintained free of silt to facilitate free flow of water.
