The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed Madurai district administration to file a report in response to a public interest litigation petition that seeks a direction to remove encroachments on a water channel of Periyar-Vaigai river basin division.
A Division Bench of Justices Pushpa Sathyanarayana and P. Velmurugan sought the response from the authorities on the petition filed by M. Rameshwari of Puduthamaraipatti in Madurai district. The petitioner complained that the water channel in the village was encroached upon by a real estate developer.
She said the Public Works Department channel in the village was a source of water for irrigation in the area.
A huge compound wall was being built by encroaching on the water channel. As a result, the villagers were not getting adequate water for agricultural activities, the petitioner said.
Despite the area receiving good rains in November, the villagers were not getting enough water for agricultural purposes. A representation was made to the authorities in this regard, but no steps were taken to restore the water channel to its original shape, the petitioner said.
