Chennai Corporation officials are in a scramble to identify encroachments in waterbodies as the Central government has sent a strong message, directing the State government authorities to revive and rehabilitate waterbodies in major cities, including Chennai.
A meeting will be conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs on Tuesday in Delhi to discuss rehabilitation of waterbodies in cities such as Chennai. Removal of encroachments is crucial for rehabilitation of all waterbodies in the city. As a result, civic body officials are concerned about giving misleading data on encroachments in waterbodies.
According to sources, many waterbodies in added areas have been encroached upon in the last few years and land records have not been handed over to the Chennai Corporation by the erstwhile local bodies after the merger in 2010.
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Demolition of structures
Corporation officials expect that the move by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to revive and rehabilitate waterbodies is expected to lead to the demolition of thousands of encroachments in waterbodies.
“We may have to wait for the outcome of the meeting of Central government officials this week. Removal of encroachments in waterbodies will be challenging. But the Centre seems to be keen on rehabilitation of all waterbodies in major cities. This will prevent calamities in cities also,” said a civic official.
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“We have been able to remove just 39 of the 55 settlements along the Cooum River. At least 13 slums have not yet been demolished for Cooum eco-restoration,” said an official.
Following High Court directions, the civic body officials have resumed work on demolition of buildings along the Cooum.
However, a comprehensive study on encroachments in hundreds of small waterbodies across the city has not yet been done for their revival of waterbodies, sources said.