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PWD to remove 1,300 encroachments from Rajakilpakkam lake next month
Rajakilpakkam lake, which was originally spread over about 105 acres, has been reduced to just 30 acres over the years due to encroachments and the Public Work Department (PWD) is ready to take action.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
The PWD will remove more than 1,300 encroachments from the lake in Tambaram by January. The officials have started issuing notices to the residents from last week. Meanwhile, in a bid to restore the previous glory of the water body. the residents have started to clean and desilt the lake.
“We got permission from the district collector to desilt the waterbody. We have desilted one side of the lake already. When we decided to move to the other side, the municipality assured us that the PWD and corporation officials will remove the encroachments and clean the lake themselves. But the officials are yet to start the desilting work,” said V Seetharaman, a member of Rajakilpakkam Residents’ Welfare Association. Familed living in the houses which will be removed from the lake bed will be allotted houses at housing board by Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board at Semmencherry and Perumbakkum. But the residents have registered their protest in moving them as they are not satisfied with the houses allotted to them.
“We have been living here for more than 35 years. We are being suddenly uprooted and allotted place somewhere near Perumbakkam. When we ask for a place in the area itself, they refused our requests,” said Ashokan E, a resident.
When contacted, PWD Assistant Executive Engineer Radhakrishnan, said, “We started issuing notices to residents past week. The encroachments would have been removed before the monsoon but the residents filed a case in the High court. The judgement came in our favour two weeks ago. So, the encroachments will be cleared by January, followed by cleaning and desilting of the lake.”
Water Resources Department to restore of Korattur, Retteri lakes
As part of the eco-restoration project that revived Chetpet and Paruthipattu lakes earlier, the Water Resources Department (WRD) has now proposed to restore Korattur and Retteri lakes, too. The delay in the project was due to the lack of funds.
The department will also build a park along both lake bunds as part of restoration work. The cost of the project is estimated at Rs 24 crore and it is expected to start in March. “Though the work was in the discussions in 2016, it was delayed due to financial crunch. We have plans to remove unwanted plants and build boundary walls around the lakes, like at Cooum river, to prevent encroachments,” said Palanisamy, Executive Engineer, WRD.
“Korattur and Retteri waterbodies are a lot larger in area when compared to Chetpet and Paruthipattu lakes, and thus they need more funds. “While Paruthipattu lake was 90 acres, Korattur lake is 700 acres. The encroachment near the water bodies will be removed soon and nearly 250 houses will be cleared as part of the restoration work,” he added.
Currently, the water bodies are polluted with sewage and indiscriminate dumping of garbage, which makes the work more challenging. A sewage treatment plant will also be built to curb the flow of untreated sewage into the lakes. “As part of the restoration, we are also planning to build a park with a walkway along the lake bund. After the encroachments are removed and water bodies are restored, the construction of the park will start,” said Palanisamy.
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