HC refuses to intervene into baby well construction at Kodiveri dam

A division bench comprising Justice S Manikumar and Justice Subramonium Prasad, while setting aside the plea as devoid of merits, said, “A perusal of the events would indicate that the government has considered the apprehension and objections of all the concerned, constituted committees to see the feasibility of relocation of the baby well”.

“After considering all the aspects, it was found that the Kodiveri dam is the best suitable location for the baby well for withdrawal of the required quantity for this project [Kodiveri supply scheme]. The work has already started. No material has been shown as to how there is any danger to the Kodiveri dam,” the bench said while noting that courts cannot sit over policy decisions of the government for utilisation of natural resources, unless the decision is completely arbitrary.

Also, holding that the court cannot substitute the decision once arrived at by the government as an appellate authority, the bench said, “In view of the fact that construction work has already started, no useful purpose would be served by asking TWAD to consider the representation. In any event, objections of the public and farmers have been considered and it has been found that it is not feasible to shift the baby well to any other place”.

Pursuant to the government orders, it was decided to have a baby well at Kodiveri dam to cater to the combined supply scheme in Perundurai and seven other town panchayats, including 547 wayside rural habitations in Erode and Tirupur districts with Bhavani river as the source.

The move was strongly objected to by a farmers’ association stating that the structure would affect the water flow in the Thadapalli and Arakkankottai canals. The district general secretary of the Hindu Munnani, in his public interest litigation, had submitted that the Thadapalli and Arakkankottai canals were constructed near Kodiveri dam across Bhavani river for irrigational purposes and has been in use for the past 520 years. But now, as part of the Kodiveri supply scheme, the move to dig a ring well at the mouth of the Thadapalli canal was not only against the dam protection rules, but will also result in the reduction of water supply for agriculture and other purposes in Thadapalli and Arakkankottai villages, he had stated.