Residents want Sembakkam lake’s boundary to be demarcated to prevent encroachments

A section of residents submitted petitions to the team of officials which inspected the Chitlapakkam lake on February 17 and urged sought undeground drainage facility in the locality

The residents say that there has been a rise in the number of encroachments along the Sembakkam lake. | Photo Credit: M. KARUNAKARAN

A section of the residents want the Sembakkam lake’s boundary to be demarcated to prevent encroachments and to facilitate completion of the restoration work.

Members of Sri Sarvamangala Nagar Residents’ Association have made a representation to various government departments to protect the lake against misuse and encroachments.

In fact, office-bearers of the association submitted a petition to the officials of various departments, who visited the Chitlapakkam lake on Friday. They sought implementation of underground drainage scheme to protect lakes in the locality. Chengalpattu Collector and Tambaram Corporation Commissioner have said that they would inspect Sembakkam lake and resolve issues, they said.

Spread over 150 acres, Sembakkam lake is a major source of groundwater for the area. Residents said they had been fighting for the rejuvenation of the lake for over two decades. The lake continues to be polluted with the discharge of raw sewage from neighbouring areas that do not have underground drainage network.

Work stopped

Unless the boundary of the lake is marked, encroachments would continue to shrink the lake space and hinder the restoration work. The project to rejuvenate the lake along with voluntary organisation has been temporarily stopped, they said.

M. Ravi, secretary of the association, said: “We have sought shifting of the composting centre of Tambaram Corporation. It is located in the lake’s catchment area.”

There were close to 400 encroachments on the lake. Though notices were issued, encroachments were yet to be cleared, he said.

He pointed out that the National Green Tribunal’s special bench had asked the Tambaram Corporation to set up sewage and solid waste management facilities to conserve the lake.

The lake’s eco-restoration plan was jointly implemented by Care Earth Trust and Nature Conservancy India.

Care Earth Trust’s managing trustee Jayshree Vencatesan said: “We plan to restart the restoration work once our permission is renewed by Water Resources Department. Our approach to restoration is guided by science and accords importance to stakeholders’ perspectives.”