A division bench of Justices K.K. Sasidharan and P.D. Audikesavalu of the Madras High Court Bench in Madurai has directed the Madurai Collector to inspect the condition of four small check dams constructed near Karumathur here and file an action taken report since a public interest litigation petition claimed that miscreants had damaged the structures.
The petition filed by R. Kasinathan, a Madurai-based agriculturalist, said that four small check dams were constructed at a cost of ₹ 17 lakh to store water from the Vaigai at the Chettikulam ‘kanmai.’ The steps were initiated to boost the groundwater level for the benefit of farm activities.
The project taken up under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act was implemented in October and villagers had reaped benefits since then. But, some miscreants damaged the check dams to prevent use of water. Following the damage, water was not being stored there.
He said representations on the damage were sent to the Collector, who visited the spot and assured the villagers that the damage would be rectified. But, the authorities were yet to commence repair work, he said. He sought a direction to the authorities to take up the issue expeditiously and rectify the damage so that water could be stored in the dams for the benefit of villagers.
