CHENNAI: Pointing out that Tamil Nadu Land Consolidation (for Special Projects) Act, 2023 will create a negative impact on the water bodies in the state, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss has urged the state government to withdraw the Act.

In his statement, Anbumani expressed shock over the Governor giving consent to the Bill passed on April 21. "The Act is unnecessary and dangerous. The Act has been passed to hand over land with water bodies to private companies. I have opposed the draft Bill when it was passed in the Assembly. The Act, which will cause an impact on water resources and agriculture, was passed without any debate, " he said.

He warned that the state will lose its water bodies in a few years as the Act has come into effect after the Governor's assent. "A few decades ago, Tamil Nadu had 41,127 lakes with a total storage capacity of 347 TMC. It was higher than the combined storage of Mettur, Vaigai, Bhavani, Sathanur, Amaravathi, Then Pennar dams. But, the total number of lakes came down to around 15,000.

If the government has any concern to save at least the remaining lakes, it should take steps to withdraw the Act, " he urged.