The Salem Corporation has cancelled the permission given to the Salem Citizens Forum for the maintenance and development of the Kumaragiri lake at Ammapet.
The Corporation has proposed to maintain and develop the lake under the ‘Smart City’ project. The Salem Citizens Forum, an association involved in various environment protection activities, is run by a group of activists led by Piyush Manush.
The 39.25-acre lake, which once served as a major drinking water source for the city, had turned into a storage canal for untreated effluents and sewage.
The forum approached the Corporation seeking its nod for the proper upkeep and development of the lake.
The Corporation adopted a resolution with certain conditions and entrusted the maintenance of the lake to the Salem Citizens Forum in 2012.
Main objective
The forum, in its initiative to give a facelift to the lake, prepared a detailed report and undertook work for desilting the lake, strengthening the bunds and establishing a park at an outlay of ₹70 lakh from its funds and also through donations made by organisations and like-minded people. The main objective was to increase its water storage capacity.
According to Corporation sources, the local body itself has decided to develop and restore the waterbody under the pan-city component of the ‘Smart City’ project.
The work on identifying a consultant for the preparation of a detailed project report for the restoration of the lake is already under way, the sources said.
