The Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal has ordered a joint inspection of a 10-km stretch on Old Mahabalipuram Road between Tiruvanmiyur and Sholinganallur to check sewage outfalls and encroachments in the Buckingham Canal and marshlands.
The bench comprising Justice P. Jyothimani and expert member P.S. Rao ordered the joint inspection to be conducted by the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB), the Public Works Department, the Chennai Corporation and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.
The direction came after officials of the TNPCB and CMWSSB submitted before the tribunal that pipeline discharge between Kottivakkam and Palavakkam stretch carried sewage as there was a leak in the pipeline. However, petitioner Jawaharlal Shanmugam contended that the pipeline had been letting out untreated sewage into the canal continuously.
The Bench, following the hearing, ordered a joint inspection to identify sewage outflows and bottlenecks. The Bench directed that a report be submitted to the Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust that is expected to undertake canal restoration works. The Bench has posted the matter for December 11.
