Ambattur lake continues to be vulnerable to pollution despite the improvement work undertaken in the recent past.
The government has decided to chalk out an action plan in coordination with various agencies to address the long-pending issues affecting the lake.
On Thursday, a team of officials from the Water Resources Department (WRD), the Greater Chennai Corporation, the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board, the Avadi Municipal Corporation and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board conducted a joint inspection of the lake.
This follows a directive of the National Green Tribunal, Southern Bench, to file a report on the status and action taken to address the problems. Spread over 156.55 hectares of land, the Ambattur lake has a capacity of 232 million cubic feet, and the surplus water is diverted to Korattur lake.
Officials of the WRD said sewage was let into the lake from surrounding areas, such as Moontru Nagar, Ganapathy Nagar, Sivasakthi Nagar, and Thirumullaivoyal that fall under the Avadi Municipal Corporation and also from the Tamil Nadu Housing Board, Ayapakkam.
Similarly, the lake was misused for dumping garbage from areas such as Sathya Nagar and Periyarnagar.
The Water Resources Department completed a ₹59.18 crore ecorestoration project at Ambattur lake last year.
The action plan would include various projects, including the construction of an underground drainage project and sewage treatment plant, and coordination with various stakeholders to raise funds to preserve the lake, a major source of drinking water.
