The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has directed Madurai district administration to take steps to remove encroachments on Chinna Puliyankulam ‘kanmoi’ at Athikulam in Madurai.
A Division Bench of Justices R. Mahadevan and J. Sathya Narayana Prasad passed the order on a public interest litigation petition filed by S. Palanivelrajan of Madurai. He sought a direction to the authorities to remove the encroachments and restore the waterbody. He complained that government and private buildings and a temple had been constructed on the tank bund. The tank was a source of water for the nearby areas. Due to encroachments, the bund had weakened and there was a possibility of it breaching in the event of heavy rain.
Right to a clean environment is a fundamental right. Under the Tamil Nadu Land Encroachment Act, 1905 and the Tamil Nadu Protection of Tanks and Eviction of Encroachment Act, 2007, the authorities were duty-bound to remove the encroachments on waterbodies and roads. But the authorities had failed to implement the Act, the petitioner said and sought a direction to the authorities to remove the encroachments and restore the ‘kanmoi.’